 Poster: A snowHead
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A fire at a hotel in the Turkish ski resort of Bolu has left 10 people dead and 32 others injured, according to Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya.
At least two of the victims died after jumping from the hotel's windows, Turkish reports said.
The fire broke out at the 12-storey Grand Kartal Hotel at 03:27 local time (00:27 GMT) during a busy holiday period when 234 people were staying there, he added.
Footage circulating in Turkey showed linen hanging from windows which was used by those trying to escape the burning building.
Bolu governor Abdulaziz Aydin said initial reports suggested the fire had broken out in the restaurant section of the hotel's fourth floor and spread to the floors above.
The hotel was investigating whether guests had been trapped in their rooms as the fire spread.
The governor told reporters the distance between the hotel, in Kartalkaya, and the centre of Bolu, paired with the freezing weather conditions, meant it took more than an hour for fire engines to arrive.
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Tue 21-01-25 22:24; edited 2 times in total
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Death toll has now gone up to 66 
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Awful
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Horrific
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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OMG
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Looks like the biggest hotel fire in a ski resort anywhere in the world this century.
Absolutely brutal.
Sounds like it started in the restaurant at 330am on the bottom floor, then whipped up thru the 12 storeys to the top in minutes.
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Shocking news.
And I read tonight that the fire service took over an hour to get there due to winter conditions. So so sad.
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I didn't think this week could get any worse with skiing-related news after the on-piste death & injury in Les Arcs and then the chairlift incident in Spain, but stumbled across this news as I got back to my accommodation for a late lunch after a very pleasant morning boarding.
First thing I then did was check what was below my 3rd floor Juliette Balcony (concrete) and notice I did at least have a very sturdy downpipe adjacent to it if the worst came to absolute worst.
Poor people. You really do never know what the next day could bring
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| Whitegold wrote: |
Sounds like it started in the restaurant at 330am on the bottom floor, then whipped up thru the 12 storeys to the top in minutes.
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In a country renowned for corruption around building regulations, that does not surprise me. Simply put, that should firstly not have happened. Secondly, there should have been fire alarms going off to make sure everyone was awake, and thirdly, where the hell were the fire escapes to allow safe evacuation of the building.
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@jabuzzard, You can add to that list the obvious missing fire countermeasures between floors, and lack of fire doors throughout the building to contain any outbreaks.
Simply put, having stared there is no way it should have spread through the rest of the building so quickly.
It seems that a sprinkler system was supposed to be installed in 2008, but never was, and the alarm system failed, yet it passed an inspection in 2024?
According to the tourism minister there were "no concerns"? Maybe the inspector should be investigated as well as the owners?
I wonder how many more hotels passed inspections recently?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Obviously an awful thing.
As with other stuff here, of course we can't know the details.
| Quote: |
| where the hell were the fire escapes to allow safe evacuation of the building. |
Still, I can't see any fire escapes on the two external sides of that building as shown above or google maps. The booking.com / tripadvisor etc room photographs show the other side of the building, and there are no external fire escapes there either. Obviously there could be a stairwell for that purpose inside - that's what you'd expect. I mean: fire escapes don't need to be external and probably wouldn't be in that sort of environment. But the details suggest that escape was the problem, so maybe there were issues ... it's happened in the rather more regulated UK after all.
The photographs (marketing & traveller) on the two main booking sites show none of the usual fire route maps on the inside of room doors, so that's a concern. But then how many of us check those maps? (yeah, I do) Also missing from all the photographs I can find are visible smoke detectors (they do have steam extraction...) and exit signs etc in any of the room types featured. The actual booking photographs (produced by the business...) don't show any fire related gadgets or signage that I can see either.
Inspection...? I guess it depends what the regulations are? UK politicians are always talking about making bonfires of regulations. I mean: they're all pointless bureaucracy until they're not. But then the UK was regulated and we still had a fire like this.... necessary but not sufficient?
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| phil_w wrote: |
| I mean: fire escapes don't need to be external and probably wouldn't be in that sort of environment. But the details suggest that escape was the problem, so maybe there were issues ... it's happened in the rather more regulated UK after all. |
The issue with escape at Grenfell was that the fire brigade persisted with the "stay in place" advice long after, under their own rules, it was no longer applicable. By the time people did try and leave, it was too late. The "stay in place" is only valid when the fire is contained, and by the time the first fire engine arrived, that was no longer the case. However, the residents were still being advised to "stay in place" for well over another hour.
There were other issues, like the 30-minute rated fire doors fitted to the building lasting less than 15 when tested. Everything below the 11th floor was untouched, so doors could be removed and actually tested to see if they met their specifications.
The failure at Grenfell is consequently different, here, basic things that should be in place were missing. At Grenfell, everything was notionally in place just due to fraud by manufacturers; it was unsafe, and combined with the failure of the fire brigade to follow their own policy on evacuation, it turned into a disaster.
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Anecdotally, the last tourist hotel I stayed in in Turkey had internal Fire Escapes but they had no signage and I only found it by looking (it was behind an unmarked door). Most worryingly, there was no emergency lighting. The area suffered from frequent power cuts and the stairs were pitch black when the power went off. I challenged the 'rep' and was told that the hotel had passed "rigorous inspection" from both the local authorities and the tour operator!
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You know it makes sense.
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I spend around 15 days a year at the hotel just next to it. I also learned how to ski at this very hotel, I literally spent my childhood there. I’m still in shock. The level of negligence is as mindblowing.
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FAQ
