Report from the Medical Chamber: No burn unit in the city
In its preliminary investigation report on the fire that killed 15 people, the Mardin Medical Chamber stated that there is no burn treatment unit in the city's hospitals.
12punto
The Mardin Medical Chamber has shared with the public its preliminary investigation report regarding the fire that caused the deaths of 15 people in villages between Mazıdağı and the Çınar district of Diyarbakır on June 20.
The report, which states that the Medical Chamber went to the region from the first hours of the night the incident occurred, listed findings, observations, and recommendations in 9 points. The report stated that 15 people lost their lives due to the fire, there were 74 injured, over 1,500 small livestock died, and more than 50 thousand decares of land were affected by the fire.
Noting that ground intervention was insufficient due to the fire occurring at night and the difficulty of reaching some settlements, the report stated, “It is believed that the lack of aerial intervention in the fire caused the number of casualties to increase.” Noting that a sufficient number of health personnel, along with those who responded to the call for volunteers, intervened in the incident, the report used the following expressions: “Due to the lack of a burn treatment unit in our province, many patients were referred to neighboring provinces, and it is believed that this situation may have contributed to the increase in casualties for a condition like burns that requires emergency intervention.”
‘STUDIES ON THE PUBLIC HEALTH DIMENSION MUST BE CONDUCTED’
The report, which noted that cooling efforts after the fire were insufficient and that this situation poses a risk and creates concern regarding the outbreak of new fires, stated: “Fine particles in fire smoke can cause severe/permanent heart and lung diseases, cancer, and premature deaths. Especially those with chronic lung diseases such as asthma, COPD, and bronchitis, as well as cardiovascular diseases, the elderly, children, pregnant women, and individuals diagnosed with diabetes are at greater risk. It is important to pay attention to avoiding actions that will disperse ash and residues and mix them back into the air while cleaning areas affected by the fire or places with smoke and ash residue nearby, and to ensure adequate ventilation and other protective measures are taken. For these reasons, it is considered important to conduct studies on the dimensions of the fire that concern public health.”
‘CARE MUST BE TAKEN IN HOW NEWS IS REPORTED’
Pointing out that short and long-term studies should be carried out in the areas affected by the fire and appropriate measures should be taken, the report stated: “Initial information obtained suggests that the fire started from power lines and spread rapidly due to the wind. In such psychologically challenging traumatic events, the identification of those responsible, if any, the initiation of the necessary legal process, and the conduct of the process in a fair and transparent manner are important situations that have positive effects on the establishment of a sense of justice and the psychological recovery process. Furthermore, meeting basic vital needs and returning to daily routines quickly are of importance for the healing of trauma. It is believed that it is important to establish a crisis desk and declare the region a disaster area in order to quickly resolve the grievances experienced.
In order to minimize traumatic psychological effects, a need has arisen to remind people not to share sensitive images related to the incident (such as images of injured people and animals, dramatic videos of suffering living beings) and to be careful about how news about the fire is presented. Considering that deaths and serious injuries were caused by a lack of experience and knowledge, especially among people who wanted to intervene in the fire, and that we are in the summer months when air temperatures and such fire incidents increase, it is considered important to provide information and training to the public. We know that such disasters may not reach large dimensions with appropriate measures and interventions. Considering that the fire has various and multi-dimensional effects such as individual, social, economic, ecological, and health-related, we are aware that the disciplines in our city working together and inter-institutional cooperation are of importance. We state that we will follow the issue and that we are ready to work in solidarity with both public and private institutions and civil society dynamics.”