Five teenage girls killed by a fire in an 'escape room' in Poland might have survived if there had been a proper evacuation route, firefighters said. Four of the girls were named and pictured last night as authorities probed poor electrical wiring and lax security procedures at the attraction in Koszalin. The bodies of the 15-year-old victims were found at the venue on Friday night, where they had been celebrating one of their birthdays. Four of the five young victims were last night named in local news as Karolina Barabas, Wiktoria Julia Pietras, Gosia Tymieniecka and Amelia Wieczorek. The teenagers are believed to have been in the same class at school and are understood to have been good friends.
Firefighters put out a blaze in an adjacent room and then used specialist equipment to break into the locked room.“The tragedy occurred primarily due to the lack of an effective evacuation route,” said Leszek Suski, head of the state firefighting service. A local prosecutor said the fire had probably been caused by an escape of gas near the heating system boiler.PAP said scores of escape rooms across Poland would now be inspected for safety.
Carbon monoxide asphyxiation is the probable cause of the deaths, officials confirmed as devastated local residents were placing flowers and lights in front of the location. A 25-year-old man was injured in the blaze and was taken to hospital suffering from severe burns. He was in a critical condition in intensive care so police have been unable to question him.
Highly popular among teenagers in Poland and in the UK too, the Escape Room game sees players locked inside a room or building offering them a live action experience. The experience lasts about an hour during which time players must find clues and solve riddles that help them get out.
There are around 150 escape rooms across the UK with more than 50 in London alone and the craze for escape room adventures has increased year on year since 2013. Poland's firefighting chief, Leszek Suski, said an initial investigation of the Escape Room site discovered that electrical wiring was makeshift and too close to flammable materials, while the man in charge was probably not even there when the fire broke out."Security was not ensured and that led to the tragedy," Mr Suski said there was no proper evacuation route and a "lot of negligence" at the location.
Firemen responding to the blaze had to use specialised equipment and force their way into the Escape Room where they found the bodies of the girls.Poland's interior minister has now ordered fire safety inspections at more than 1,000 Escape Room locations across the country.
Highly popular among teenagers in Poland and in the UK too, the Escape Room game sees players locked inside a room or building and they must find clues that help them get out.
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has sent condolences to the victims' relatives and there have been calls for a national day of mourning to be held today officials have extended psychological and other support to the families of the girls.
The school which the teenagers attended was offering counselling and support to their friends and teachers yesterday."The victims of this tragedy are 15-year-old children, girls celebrating a birthday," said Interior Minister Joachim Brudzinski.