Kamień Pomorski homeless hostel fire

Kamień Pomorski homeless hostel fire
Charred remains of the homeless shelter in Kamień Pomorski, Poland
Date13 April 2009 (2009-04-13)
VenueHomeless hostel
LocationKamień Pomorski, Poland
Coordinates53°57′36″N 14°46′39″E / 53.96000°N 14.77750°E / 53.96000; 14.77750
TypeFire
Deaths23
Non-fatal injuries20

The Kamień Pomorski homeless hostel fire occurred in north-western Poland on 13 April 2009. The fire occurred during the night at a three-story homeless hostel in Kamień Pomorski (West Pomeranian Voivodeship), a town situated approximately 60 kilometres or 37 miles from the German border. 23 people, including 13 children,[1] were pronounced dead, with a further 20 sustaining an injury of some sort.[2][3] It was Poland's deadliest fire since a conflagration destroyed a home for the mentally ill in Górna Grupa in 1980 claiming the lives of 55 victims.[4]

Hostel

The hostel, originally a workers' hotel, was previously described as an unsafe building.[2] It was a three-story structure originally built as one-story in the early 1970s; two stories made of highly flammable materials were added later.[2]

Survivors have reported that this was not the first fire to occur at the hostel. The address was also known to the police, as many people were housed in the hostel by the social services.[5] At least seventy-seven people were sheltered in the building while waiting to be provided with alternative housing, but the number of people actually staying in the hotel during the night of the fire was unclear.[2][3][6][7]

Fire

Polish firefighters searching for victims.

The fire is believed to have started around midnight on 13 April (23:00 UTC), but the first report was received by the Fire Department as late as 00:32 Polish Time (23:32 UTC) followed by reports to the police and paramedics. The firefighters arrived at 00:36 and helped to evacuate people, but despite a quick response arrived to find four-fifths of the hostel already in flames with hallways blocked by thick black smoke.[4] By 00:43 the fire escalated and the firefighters were unable to continue the evacuation. 41 people escaped and 20 were located in hospitals.[8]

Many of the survivors jumped out of the building, because the available rescue ladders could only reach the first floor.[3] Children were taken from their beds by their parents and hurled through windows as firefighters and onlookers grabbed them and brought them to safety.[2][4] Common injuries as a result of the fire included burns,[2] smoke inhalation,[2] and fractured bones.[4][6][7] Many of the corpses were charred beyond recognition, which caused the death toll to be underestimated at first.[2] Some of the casualties were visiting the building and were not necessarily permanently housed there.[5]

The hostel was completely destroyed[3] in a fire that the BBC called "one of the deadliest in living memory".[2] Images broadcast on television showed "huge flames reaching high into the sky above the roof"[3] and the "charred, gutted shell" of the hostel.[7] Several hours were spent extinguishing the fire, with twenty-one fire crews on hand to assist.[2]

The death toll was first announced as 21, but two persons were still missing – due to the way the building was evacuated and witness testimonies saying they were seen leaving during the fire it was unclear whether they had escaped. By the end of April twenty bodies and four pieces of bodies were found at the scene, and after DNA tests it was discovered that the pieces were the remains of the missing persons, revising the death toll to 23, including 13 children aged from 2 to 16.[9]

Reactions

Three days of national mourning were declared in Poland to begin at midnight following the fire.[2][4][7][10] The country's Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, who was on an Easter holiday like many of the victims,[6] flew to Kamień Pomorski, promising new housing and aid for the survivors.[2] The country's President, Lech Kaczyński, also made an appearance.[2]

The President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev,[11] European Commission chairman José Manuel Barroso, Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko,[12] French Prime Minister Nicolas Sarkozy[13] and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bernard Kouchner[14] sent condolences.

See also

Notes

Some reports mentioned that an eight-month-old infant perished,[4][15] but it was later reported that it was in stable condition at the hospital.[16]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kamień Pomorski homeless hostel fire.
  1. ^ "Wiadomości – Wiadomości w Onet – Najnowsze i Najważniejsze Wiadomości z Kraju i Świata". Onet Wiadomości. Archived from the original on 16 April 2013. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Fire in Polish hostel 'kills 21'". BBC News. 13 April 2009. Retrieved 13 April 2009.
  3. ^ a b c d e "21 killed in fire at Polish hostel". RTÉ News. 13 April 2009. Retrieved 13 April 2009.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Children thrown from windows as Polish hostel fire kills 21". The Daily Telegraph. 13 April 2009. Retrieved 13 April 2009.
  5. ^ a b "21 dead as fire guts Polish hostel". ABC News. 13 April 2009. Retrieved 13 April 2009.
  6. ^ a b c "At least 18 people killed in fire accident in Poland". Xinhua News Agency. 13 April 2009. Archived from the original on 15 April 2009. Retrieved 13 April 2009.
  7. ^ a b c d "Hostel fire kills 21 in Poland". Irish Examiner. 13 April 2009. Retrieved 13 April 2009.
  8. ^ "'Ludzie nie powinni tam mieszkać' – raport o tragedii w Kamieniu Pomorskim". 20 April 2009. Archived from the original on 20 April 2009. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  9. ^ "Więcej ofiar pożaru w Kamieniu Pomorskim". TVN24 (in Polish). Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  10. ^ "At least 21 dead in Poland hostel fire". The Irish Times. 13 April 2009. Retrieved 13 April 2009.
  11. ^ "President of Azerbaijan offers condolences to his Polish counterpart". Trend. 13 April 2009. Retrieved 1 May 2009.
  12. ^ "Świat składa Polsce kondolencje w związku z tragedią w Kamieniu Pomorskim". 16 April 2009. Archived from the original on 16 April 2009. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  13. ^ "Nicolas Sarkozy przekazał kondolencje w związku z pożarem w Kamieniu Pomorskim". 19 April 2009. Archived from the original on 19 April 2009. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  14. ^ "Kondolencje ministra Kouchnera w związku ze śmiercią ludzi w Kamieniu Pomorskim". 18 April 2009. Archived from the original on 18 April 2009. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  15. ^ "21 die in Polish hostel fire". Irish Independent. 13 April 2009. Retrieved 13 April 2009.
  16. ^ "'Ludzie nie powinni tam mieszkać' – raport o tragedii w Kamieniu Pomorskim". 20 April 2009. Archived from the original on 20 April 2009. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
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