Inspectors' Kartalkaya fire report revealed! Who is responsible?

As the investigation into the fire disaster at the Kartalkaya Ski Center in Bolu continues, civil inspectors appointed by the Ministry of Interior have completed their preliminary report. The report emphasizes that the hotel's inspections were inadequate, the Provincial Special Administration failed to identify deficiencies regarding fire safety measures, and that responsibility lies with the Secretary General and his deputy.

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Inspectors' Kartalkaya fire report revealed! Who is responsible?

The investigation into the fire disaster that occurred at the Kartalkaya Ski Center in Bolu, which resulted in the loss of 78 lives, is progressing. In the report prepared by the inspectors appointed by the Ministry of Interior, it was stated that fire safety measures at the Grand Kartal Hotel were insufficient due to inadequate inspections, and that there were lapses in the inspection and control of the hotel by the authorized institutions.

The Secretary General and his deputy were accused of legal liability. T24's Cengiz Anıl Bölükbaş obtained the preliminary report.

UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF THE PROVINCIAL SPECIAL ADMINISTRATION

Accordingly, the report stated that the Grand Kartal Hotel, where the fire disaster took place, is located outside the municipal boundaries and within the jurisdiction of the Provincial Special Administration.

Furthermore, regarding the powers and privileges of the Provincial Special Administration, the report stated: "Article 7 of the Provincial Special Administration Law No. 5302 lists the powers and privileges of the Provincial Special Administration. One of these powers, as regulated in subparagraph (g) of the article, is to issue business opening and operating licenses for non-sanitary establishments and public rest and entertainment venues outside municipal boundaries, and to inspect these workplaces."

3 LICENSES ISSUED

The report noted that the Provincial Special Administration issued 3 business opening and operating licenses for the Grand Kartal Hotel on November 26, 2007, March 3, 2008, and December 29, 2015. It was emphasized that the licenses were changed due to address and company name changes, and that the previous license was canceled each time.

INSPECTED 5 TIMES BY THE PROVINCIAL SPECIAL ADMINISTRATION

The report included information that the hotel was inspected 5 times by the Bolu Provincial Special Administration on March 17, 2011, January 28, 2016, January 21, 2019, February 8, 2021, and February 14, 2024. It was stated that the inspections covered kitchen sections, food preparation, food storage, analysis reports on drinking and utility water supply methods, ventilation systems, personnel hygiene, and food safety. It was noted that since the inspecting personnel were health technicians and food engineers, they conducted inspections within their own fields. It was stated that the Licensing and Inspection Directorate obtained "approval" from the Secretary of the Provincial Special Administration to form a commission to conduct these inspections every year.

The report emphasized that while these inspections were accepted as good-faith inspections, it was not possible to accept them within the scope of inspections to be carried out by authorized administrations after the initial inspection, as specified in the Provincial Special Administration Law No. 5302, which states: "...to license and inspect non-sanitary establishments and public rest and entertainment venues outside municipal boundaries..." and in the Additional Article 3 of the Regulation on Business Opening and Operating Licenses.

INSPECTION IS A MANDATORY PROCEDURE

The report included the following statements regarding the matter:

"Ultimately, the main action taken by the Provincial Special Administration in line with the authority granted by law is the act of issuing a business opening and operating license; 'Inspection' is an administrative procedure that arises with the issuance of the license by the administration and must be carried out as a mandatory procedure, similar to a bound authority without discretionary power, and it must be of a content that will affect the existence of the license."

'NO OBSTACLE TO REQUESTING NEW DOCUMENTS'

The report stated that the Provincial Special Administration could request new documents from the license holder to understand whether fire safety measures remain up-to-date, especially in areas requiring expertise and direct inspection authority such as fire safety measures, just as it had requested before. The report also stated that there was no obstacle for the Provincial Special Administration to act ex officio and correspond with the institution authorized to issue such documents.

SECRETARY GENERAL AND DEPUTY FOUND 'RESPONSIBLE'

The report stated that inspections were carried out at the hotel during certain periods, but the content of these inspections was not planned correctly and effectively.

For these reasons, it was stated that Secretary General Sırrı Kösterili is legally responsible for failing to effectively use his authority for supervision, direction, and management, and for failing to take the necessary decisions to identify deficiencies regarding inspections in a timely manner.

Furthermore, it was stated that Deputy Secretary General Bünyamin Bal is also legally responsible because, although he was aware of the business opening and operating license inspections—which are among the tasks and transactions of the Licensing and Inspection Directorate that has been working as a unit under him for a long time—through the document routing processes he performed, he did not show minimal care regarding their content, and during his directorate inspections conducted at 6-month intervals, he only relied on statistical data and failed to take the necessary decisions to identify deficiencies regarding inspections in a timely manner without going into the essence of the work and transactions.

The report stated that permission for investigation should be granted regarding Kösterili and Bal.

PERSONNEL HAVE NO LEGAL LIABILITY

It was emphasized that the personnel assigned to the licensing unit who participated in the inspections conducted inspections within the scope of their own areas of expertise and do not have legal liability as they were not subjected to special in-service training in terms of the legislation underlying the inspection.

News Source: 12punto