Author: Klevis Paloka
For a week, the doors of the mortuary have been opened in the family of the Martyr of the Fatherland, Arjan Sala. There are many people who have gone for a comforting visit to Fadil Sala's father's house. Arjan's relatives stay in the yard to wait and escort the people who come to offer condolences. Great sadness can be seen in the eyes of all his family members. His 4-year-old son is also in the yard looking for his father, who lost his life in a heroic act to save the lives of several other people who were in the warehouse of the shopping center in Tirana.
" No matter how many mothers cry today, only one is crying, no matter how many fathers cry today, only one is crying, " the martyr's uncle repeats to ACQJ.
But on the other hand, Naim Sala, does not hesitate to accuse the firefighting forces again that, according to him, they did not intervene quickly enough. But he emphasizes that this delay came from the lack of appropriate means and that this issue should now be left to justice to judge.
" The fire service intervened late because there might have been some hope of saving my nephew alive. You saw for yourself that the firefighters had some clothing that could not withstand the type of fire that was in that warehouse. They changed the oxygen cylinders once every 20 minutes and then they were late in filling them again because they did not have the right tools ," says Naimi, who on the other hand recalls that the facility lacked fire-fighting conditions.
But apart from the awareness to give him the martyr's medal and the reaction of the citizens who financially supported his family, justice has not yet raised an accusing finger. " We have already left this matter in the hands of justice and we do not want to make it a political issue, as we want our son's body to rest in peace. We thank everyone for the great support they have given us, but also for the financial assistance so that the little child he left behind can have the opportunity to be educated even though he will grow up without a father ," concludes Arjan's uncle.
Despite the days that have passed, the expertise that will answer the questions about why the fire broke out in the shopping center has not been finalized yet, while the completely burned warehouse continues to be a scene for investigators. ACQJ sources near the prosecution who were at the scene on the day of the observation stated that investigations are being conducted into all the circumstances from the cause of the fire to the fire safety conditions and the intervention of the fire service.
Asked by ACQJ, mall employees shrug their shoulders on the matter. They add that you have been asked not to speak. The only information you get from them is that this warehouse was leased to a third party. Especially for the conditions, none of them agrees to speak even anonymously.
Firefighters defend and accuse
But unlike the family members of the 'Martyr of the Homeland', the director of the Tirana fire service says that the intervention by the firefighters was immediate. " We reacted with all the means we had, even though they are not state-of-the-art ," insists Shkëlqim Goxhaj, who is the head of the fire service.
As for the part of how a business completes fire safety, the official explains that this action is done at the time of applying for a building permit.
" For fire safety, all businesses draft a fire protection project which is compiled by a specialist, not from the fire service. With these projects, businesses apply to the Municipality of Tirana when it comes to construction or approval of the construction permit and after completion for approval of the facility's use permit. These controls are carried out by the Fire Service Inspectorate ," says Goxhaj.
But also the checks on businesses and their certification for meeting fire safety conditions, according to Goxhajt, have changed.
" A year ago, a decision was issued by the General Directorate of the Fire Service, which stipulates that ordinary businesses must obtain a fire certificate once every 5 years. So from now on, businesses will be certified by us once every 5 years. Whereas before, it was done every year ," emphasizes the director of the fire service in Tirana.
However, who inspected the building that caught fire, and why its destination changed, the head of the fire service has no answer.
Whether or not there are businesses or other Services that have been fined, Goxhaj is clear in his answer.
" The primary thing for the fire service is not imposing fines, the primary thing is fulfilling the conditions and after we conduct inspections, we allow tasks and if the tasks are not implemented we impose fines, but in the last year the fines have been low, as businesses have started to meet the conditions ," emphasizes Goxhaj.
Although Goxhaj insists that despite his subordinates, they heroically brought the situation under control even though they did not have the tools of the latest technology, many questions remain unanswered. Among them, why the firefighters don't have the right clothing, or AP3 canisters.
The head of the Fire Service Union, Bledar Bajrami, is open about the part of the conditions regarding firefighters.
" Fireproof clothing is for a house fire, for a fire in outdoor environments that can withstand fire to a certain point. I have raised it before as a shortage. The clothing we have is the same as the ones you have, you wrap a piece of meat in aluminum foil and put it in the oven. We have never had thermal cameras. Our cylinders can last up to 20 minutes and the oxygen comes out very warm when there are high temperatures. We get compressors and compress the air with cylinders. This is not healthy and is not a solution. You put the compressors in, you change the cylinders ," says Bajrami.
Bajrami also gives details of how the fire in the warehouse of the shopping center could be extinguished. Due to the lack of suitable equipment, the firefighters ended up three days late in managing a fire fueled by clothing.
" Drilling the sole from above with special equipment and filling the warehouse from above with foam, water, foam would have been efficient. At least we wouldn't have ended up like this, three days putting out a fire. The human body has a property that immediately assimilates carbon dioxide. The firefighters have worked 24 hours without interruption ," concludes the head of the fire service union.
The service is supported by donations
From the ACQJ's investigation, it appears that the last time the Fire Service in Tirana was equipped with new tools was three years ago. But they are also donations given specifically in March 2018 by the Turkish organization called the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA).
While the last two tenders from Tirana Municipality for new equipment turns out to have been made in November-December 2019. One tender was made for "Purchase of firefighting vehicles for the Ministry of Education and Culture", while the other was made for "Construction of the Kinostudio fire department building".
This is also acknowledged by the Director of the Fire Service, Goxhaj, who said that for the equipment with the latest models for the fire service, a cooperation agreement has been signed with several international organizations that help in the supply of new equipment.
