Expert report says three directly at fault for deadly dormitory fire in Turkey’s Adana

ADANA

REUTERS photo

The Turkeys Forensics Institution has released its complete expert report on the girl’s dormitory fire in the Aladağ district of the southern province of Adana, finding three people directly at fault and four indirectly at fault in the fire, which killed 12 people and injured 24.

The report, issued upon the prosecutor’s demand, initially revealed major negligence and said that out of the seven suspects arrested after the fire, three were directly at fault in the deadly incident.

Following the report, the lawyers of the four suspects who bore indirect fault - identified only as Ramazan D., Ramazan K., Mustafa Ö. and Mahir K. - demanded their release and on Jan. 23 an Adana court ordered their release pending trial.

The three remaining suspects – identified as dormitory manager Cumali Genç, association head İsmail U., and dormitory employee Mahmut D. - remain under arrest.

The report said that if the dormitory’s personnel had been trained about what to do in the event of a fire and had carried out fire drills, the students would have been able to escape the building “by crawling on their knees and covering their mouths with clothes though the fire exit.”

The report also found that the upper floor of the dormitory, where most of the deaths occurred, was not constructed within the technical requirements and the doors of the fire exits were made against the regulations. 

Initial findings after the fire revealed that the fire exit doors were made of flammable plastic material and the door on the first floor did not have handles on the inside. It also noted that there were no fire extinguisher tubes in the building and no fire drills had taken place. 

Regarding the fault of the suspects, the report said the administration of the dorm was responsible for not constructing the electrical system of the building based on regulations, while the related officials were responsible for allowing the dorm to function despite its lack of regulations.  

Some 12 people, mostly children, were killed and another 24 were wounded late on Nov. 29 in the fire.

Meanwhile, a parliamentary commission that was scheduled to probe negligence in the fire has still yet to become operational, as the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputies have not yet named their deputies to be tasked for the commission’s work.