The Kartalkaya fire through the eyes of a sailor

Both a tourism minister...

And a hotel owner... He travels by helicopter and allocates the country's most popular bays and lands to himself with his own signature.

And a tourism agency boss who markets other hotels as well...

And a significant advertiser for the media...

Are they all the same person? I don't know. I used to think it was one person. But after the recent Kartalkaya disaster, I look at the reports made by the hit-squad in the pro-government media. I look at how the Minister of Interior and the Minister of Justice are trying to shift the responsibility from the Ministry of Tourism to the Bolu Municipality, which is not even within its borders. It doesn't look like he is the sole boss of all these affairs.

Laws, regulations, and the preliminary expert report emphasize that the responsibility for inspection lies with the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization, and the Provincial Special Administration. The Minister of Interior, the Minister of Justice, and the Minister of Tourism are all trying to cover up the sun with mud, along with the hit-squad chorus they have taken with them.

The Minister of Tourism is guilty not once, but twice... As for the reason... First, because he is the Minister of Tourism and did not conduct/have sufficient inspections carried out... And second, because he is the owner of the tour operator/travel agency that markets that hotel...

As the Minister of Tourism, he is trying to pass the buck, but he should be aware of his authority and responsibilities. But as the long-time boss of a large travel agency, I am sure he is aware of his responsibilities.

I am sharing a message sent by a tourism professional.

“I say this as a 20-year tourism professional. Let's say you want to sign a contract with an agency like the British Jet2holidays or the German Meetingpoint; those agency officials come and inspect the hotel from top to bottom, from fireproof doors to the height of balcony railings. If there are deficiencies, they hand you a list and say, 'Complete these, then let's work.' You complete the deficiencies, they come again, and then the contract is signed. Even if the agency has no legal obligation, that is how they work. Valuing people is something like that. The Minister of Tourism is the boss of ETS, and he was marketing the burning hotel. He is at the head of the institution that sets and implements standards in Turkey. Go ask the minister, what do foreign operators check before working with their own hotels?”

As with all other disasters caused by negligence and incompetence, in all likelihood, those responsible in this incident will also escape being held accountable before the judiciary. But the bill for this will be heavy. This is a period when tourism fairs are intense around the world. Summer seasons are being marketed, and reservations are being made. Many tour operators have become aware of the inspection mechanism for hotels in Turkey. Either the number of tourists will drop, or prices will... In all likelihood, both...

A PROPOSAL TO CHP MUNICIPALITIES...

As you know, there is a statement from the Bolu Fire Department. The hotel in question applies to receive a fire report. The fire department comes and inspects it. It identifies 8 major deficiencies and issues a report saying, “Complete these, we will come and check again.” The hotel then withdraws the application in question. The Minister of Tourism also says in a television program he appeared on, “If the Bolu Municipality had reported it, we would have closed the hotel.”

Even before the minister made this statement, I had shared the following on my X account while the issue was still hot.

“Since the Deputy Mayor of Bolu has been arrested. Since the authority lies with the Ministry of Tourism but the responsibility lies with the municipality... Then here is a real action proposal for the CHP... Let them seal all tourist hotels in all provinces where there are CHP municipalities; Istanbul, Izmir, Antalya, Muğla, etc.”

It broke the record for views, shares, and likes among all the messages I have posted to date. There were 746 thousand views, over 20 thousand likes, and 3100 and 588 replies. The leading suggestion among those received was to start with the minister's own hotels...

THE SITUATION AT SEA

I am also a 35-year sailor and mariner. For the last 8 of those years, I have held a Seaman's Book with professional yacht captaincy qualifications. Whether amateur or professional, whether a private boat or a commercial vessel, safety and fire issues are taken far more seriously in our field than in these hotels.

According to SOLAS (International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea), a captain or seaman must take theoretical and practical STCW courses and then pass the exam before taking the seaman's certificate exams. Fire training is also included in STCW courses and exams. We start and extinguish artificial fires in the fire department's yard. The job doesn't end after passing the exams and receiving the certificate. If the boat is commercial, a fire drill is conducted at least once a month. That's not enough either. If we do not go to STCW courses every five years to repeat training in first aid, fire, survival at sea, and rescuing people from the sea, we lose our seaman's qualification.

For example, you are traveling at sea alone with your private boat, not a commercial one. The Coast Guard comes and checks the fire extinguishers on the boat. Your fire extinguishers must be certified. If your fire extinguishers are smaller than they should be or if the expiration date indicated on them has passed, you get fined.

When insuring a boat, a marine surveyor prepares a survey. This survey also includes fire prevention measures. If the boat is not insured, no marina will accept it. Commercial boats must be hauled out of the water and undergo a survey every year. Even if they are not commercial, many boats have a fire blanket in their galley. A fire blanket costs between 250 and 500 liras. According to the preliminary expert report, the fire at the Kartalkaya Hotel started on an electric stove in the kitchen. If there had been a 250-lira fire blanket and any person working in the kitchen knew when, where, and how to use it, such a disaster would not have happened.

Not only on ships but also in ports and marinas, there is advanced fire-fighting equipment. Without exception, all personnel on marine vessels, from the captain to the ship's cook, and in marinas, from the front desk clerk to the tea server, are required to conduct a fire drill once a month.

What do we do during fire drills on ships?

Within a scenario, we act as if there is a real fire. Every crew member has a duty during a fire, and this duty is written on the person's muster card. The person who first sees the fire shouts “Fire!” as loudly as possible. They report the situation to the captain. This report specifies where the fire started and what type of fire it is (gas, fuel, electrical, solid object, metal, etc.).

Along with the alarm or announcement, personnel put on their life jackets and gather at the assembly station. It is determined what will be used to extinguish the fire (what type of fire extinguisher and pressurized water, etc.).

Personnel who will enter the fire scene put on their fire suits and put on their breathing apparatus (gas mask and air tank). The group leader checks whether these suits and the breathing apparatus are worn correctly and whether there is air in the air tanks.

The fire pump is started, at least two fire hoses are rigged, and it is checked whether they are working and their water-spraying capacity is verified.

The ventilation system is turned off to extinguish the fire. Fire and watertight hatches (we call doors on a ship hatches) are closed. During these trainings, information about fire types, extinguishing techniques according to fire types, and equipment usage is repeated. The monthly fire drill is recorded in the ship's logbook. When a ship goes to a port abroad, the relevant port authority checks whether these drills have been performed. If it sees a deficiency in the fire pump and equipment, it prohibits the boat from sailing.

It is impossible to understand why a fire station belonging to the Ministry of Forestry was not established in a forested area like Kartalkaya. To give an example, there is no requirement for a fire truck in marinas, but there are two fire trucks at the Yat Marin in the Yalancı Boğaz area of Marmaris. They also go and intervene in forest fires that break out in Marmaris.