Here are the moments of the tragedy: Mehmet Ali Tekin, who left Alanya, shared his story

The hotel fire in the Kartalkaya region of Bolu, which resulted in the deaths of 79 people and injuries to 51, deeply saddened Turkey. Mehmet Ali Tekin, former member of the Alanya Municipal Council, who was staying at a nearby hotel during the fire, shared important details about the tragedy.

Tekin, who is also a construction engineer, mentioned that during the fire, he helped a family trying to throw their child out of the window and took them to the Bolu Abant İzzet Baysal University Hospital. "The temperature was -8 degrees at night, and the roads were icy. We reached the city center in an hour," Tekin said, noting that the fire lasted about 10 hours and caused many casualties.

"LACK OF SAFETY MEASURES INCREASED THE SCALE OF THE TRAGEDY"

Tekin stated that the primary reasons for such large losses during the fire were the insufficient technical equipment inside the building and incorrect practices in the surrounding area:

"There were no safety barriers around the building, and cars were parked right at the entrance. Despite the number of hotels in the area, the emergency vehicles were very far away. The fire truck was delayed because parked cars were blocking the way. A lot of time was lost while the cars were being moved with a forklift. Also, the fire truck was old and experienced a brief malfunction during the operation. A fire truck from the city center took more than an hour to reach the area in winter conditions."

"WE MUST LEARN LESSONS"

To prevent such incidents from happening again, Tekin emphasized the following measures:

"Fire safety measures should not be limited to the interior of the building, but precautions must also be taken in the surrounding area. The habit of parking cars in front of buildings should be abandoned. This led to the loss of many lives during the fire. Safety barriers should be established around buildings like hotels, schools, and hospitals to ensure that emergency vehicles can easily access them."

Finally, Tekin expressed his condolences to the families of the deceased and wished a speedy recovery to the injured, stating, "We must learn from these tragedies and make the necessary adjustments."