Uludağ hotels undergo safety tests following Kartalkaya fire: 80-year-old hotels pose danger

Following the fire disaster in Bolu Kartalkaya that resulted in the loss of 78 lives, eyes have turned to Uludağ, one of Turkey's most important winter tourism centers. The situation of the hotels in Uludağ, which are structures dating back to 1945 and need to be transformed without being demolished, brings with it many security and transformation problems.

It was planned that the hotels in Uludağ would be demolished and replaced with new ones within the framework of the Uludağ Transformation Project, which was initiated in the early 2000s during the term of Minister of Forestry Veysel Eroğlu. However, taking advantage of the ministerial changes and the political vacuum of the period, hotel operators gained an additional 50 years for this transformation, which was supposed to be completed by 2009. With the extension, the demolition of the old hotels was postponed once again.

ALLEGATIONS OF ILLEGAL FLOORS

Another significant issue regarding the old structures in Uludağ is the illegal floor additions made by some hotels. During the National Parks era, there were ongoing lawsuits against some hotels on the grounds that they had added illegal floors. However, it is alleged that while these hotels should have been transformed without being demolished, they took advantage of legal loopholes by only reducing the square footage of areas such as restaurants, ski rooms, and cafes. Furthermore, the fact that these hotels avoid carrying out the necessary demolitions and only make arrangements in the lower sections increases security concerns.

SECURITY MEASURES MAY BE INCREASED

In Uludağ, the adequacy of response teams in the event of a possible disaster is an even bigger question mark. Currently, 3 teams affiliated with the Bursa Metropolitan Municipality Fire Department, along with AFAD, JAK, UMKE, 112 medical personnel, and Highway teams, carry out disaster response duties. In addition, the possibility of hotels coming together to hire seasonal fire response teams is being considered. It is thought that the response capacity could be further increased in this way.

Uludağ is one of Turkey's busiest winter tourism centers, hosting 35 accommodation centers with a 5,000-bed capacity that welcome 1.7 million guests annually. However, the long-standing confusion of authority and lack of security prevent this potential from being fully realized. Most of the hotels in Uludağ serve with old structures dating back 80 years, and the modernization of these hotels is of great importance.

SEASONAL FIRE RESPONSE TEAMS

The transformation of the hotels in Uludağ is the joint responsibility of not only the hotel owners but also the security authorities in the region. The Hotel Association is working on various solutions to provide convenience in hiring seasonal fire response teams. Being able to rent response vehicles from external firms and utilizing companies that provide seasonal firefighting services could allow for an increase in response capacity in the event of potential major disasters.