On the 24th of January, Minister Ersoy wished God’s mercy upon those who lost their lives in the fire that broke out at the Grand Kartal Hotel in Bolu Kartalkaya Ski Center and a speedy recovery to the injured and touched on the authority discussions. Minister Ersoy said that regions with tourism potential were declared tourism centers by presidential decree, and the authority to make zoning plans and allocate public lands for tourism purposes was given to the Ministry.

Stating that they did not receive any other authority, Ersoy said, “Since it is outside the adjacent area, the license and settlement authority belongs to the Provincial Special Administration. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism never has authority unless a definition is made by a special law.”

Ersoy stated that there were hotels with municipality certificates before 2021, and that later, the tourism business certificate was added from the Ministry, and said, “Sometimes information pollution is created, as if the powers of the municipalities were transferred to the Ministry, there is no such thing. Now, the municipality certificate is not enough, it also needs to get a Ministry certificate. The first criterion is to get a municipality certificate.”

Drawing attention to the fact that only fire departments give the fire competence certificate, Ersoy said, “The Provincial Special Administration says, ‘You will get these from authorized institutions and bring them to me.’ The only officially authorized institution in Turkey is the fire departments. In Kartalkaya, the authorization is given by the Bolu Fire Department. You cannot get it from any other municipality other than the Bolu Municipality, since you are within the borders of Bolu province. Only the fire departments give the fire competence certificate. The municipalities you are affiliated with within the provincial borders give it. If the district does not have competence, then the Bolu Fire Department gives it. The Provincial Special Administration gives the work permit to open a business. It gives you the list and says, ‘Take care of these and come.’ Here, the Bolu Fire Department gives the certificate after performing the necessary inspections.”

Noting that the Provincial Special Administration grants a business and operating license if the compliance is complete, Ersoy said, “When this comes to us, the process begins. The Ministry sends a child and ds an inspector to the business. What does our inspector look for? He inspects tourism-related processes. When we see the business opening license, it means the transaction is complete for us. This is our main rule. The Ministry inspects the characteristics and standards of the facility. It inspects its stars and quality. We look at the adequacy of the number of rooms. We look at the bed capacity, minimum and maximum. Of course, there are holiday villages, apartments, and guesthouses. Not all of them are hotels. We inspect the characteristics and classification and then issue the document.”

“IT IS NECESSARY TO REPORT TO THE PROVINCIAL SPECIAL ADMINISTRATION OR THE MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND TOURISM”

Ersoy stated that 8 faulty situations were revealed in the hotel as a result of the application made to Bolu Municipality and later withdrawn, and said the following:

“Bolu Municipality finds 8 essential deficiencies such as evacuation exits, illuminated direction signs, building emergency lighting, electrical installation suitability, extinguishing equipment instructions, detection systems and fire alarm, lightning rod, smoke ventilation and evacuation. It makes a determination, and there is no such thing as withdrawing it after making this determination. Normally, after determining these deficiencies, you need to inform the Provincial Special Administration or the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Bolu Municipality was supposed to give time to correct it after making this determination. If it has not been corrected after that period, it needs to notify the Provincial Special Administration that issues the business opening and operating license or the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, one level above it. From the moment it says this, the Provincial Special Administration would immediately close it down and cancel the license without even asking the Ministry. Since the Provincial Special Administration cancels the license, it can go and close it down. From that moment on, the Provincial Special Administration automatically closes the business opening and operating license since its adequacy has decreased and informs us. If it had been in the adjacent area, the fire department would have applied to the municipality. You cannot take any other action after knowing this fact. “You detected it, it didn’t stop you. You personally went upon request and made the detections. You are now aware of it. There is a serious problem in this hotel. He listed 8 items.”

Noting that the law states that in Turkey, fire-related qualification certificates are obtained from fire departments, Ersoy said, “Whether it is in an adjacent area or not, only the fire department issues this certificate. As the Ministry, we only accept these qualification certificates from fire departments. There is authority, but no obligation. The discretion of how long to inspect this is left to the institution, namely the fire department.”

Minister Ersoy stated that the fire department is obliged to inspect if the business requests it and that they cannot say, “I am not coming,” and said the following:

“This is not only mandatory if the business requests it, you have the authority, you can inspect at any period you want. This is the law. The Provincial Special Administration has the right to speak in the field. This does not eliminate the obligation of your fire department. Official businesses only receive fire competence certificates from the fire departments. The fire department has the authority to inspect. Let’s look at every business in Bolu as these hotels. Since the district municipalities are not sufficient, the Bolu Municipality is sufficient. As long as the competence certificate is valid, it gives the fire department the authority to inspect repeatedly. If you grant a place the authority to inspect, you are authorized for the inspection during the validity period. When you say that you have the authority, but you are not obliged, it leaves the discretion of when this will be inspected to you. If the business requests it, you are obliged.”

When asked which institution is responsible for giving the firefighting qualification certificate to the Grand Kartal Hotel in Bolu Kartalkaya Ski Center, Ersoy said, “All hotels and businesses in Kartalkaya have received their firefighting qualification certificate from the Bolu Fire Department. They have to get it anyway, there is no other place. The Bolu Fire Department is the one that issues the qualification certificate here. The one who issues the qualification certificate is authorized to inspect. The authority debate is over as soon as the qualification certificate is issued.”

Ersoy, who stated that the subject of inspections to be carried out in line with the request of the institution is distorted and that there is no such thing as ”If the institution does not request it, I will not inspect it.”, said, “If requested, it is mandatory to inspect. Let’s say you are opening a new business. You need to get a work permit and a business certificate. You automatically go to the fire department and say, ‘Inspect me in terms of competence.’ When requested, you are obliged. You can go for an inspection whenever you want as a fire department. Everyone, all mayors know this. This is a very clear rule. Everyone is inspected by the fire department from which they received their competence certificate, and this continues.”

Ersoy stated that the fire department can inspect any business that has a fire competence certificate and is in the area it is responsible for, and that if the institution does not accept the inspection, the Provincial Special Administration will send a warning to the institution to renew its fire certificate, and if it is not renewed, the business’s license will be cancelled and it will be closed.

Ersoy, who said that fire qualification certificates are obtained from fire departments and that the Ministry only accepts the qualification certificate if it is obtained from the fire department, said, “The qualification certificates of all the businesses in Kartalkaya that require fire qualification certificates are at the Bolu Fire Department.”

Making a statement about the sustainability certificate of the business, Ersoy explained that the sustainability certificate is renewed every year and that the certificate has nothing to do with the fire certificate.

“THE ISSUES INSPECTED BY THE MINISTRY ARE RELATED TO TOURISM”

Drawing attention to the fact that the inspection areas applied by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in businesses are related to tourism, Ersoy said, “The issues inspected by the Ministry are related to tourism. Capacities such as classification, quantity, and quality related to tourism. Before going to this inspection, I look at the business’s file. I can go for fun or if there are complaints. I look at its file before going. Does it have a valid license? I look at that. Fire adequacy, food safety, etc. If it has those, I send the inspector. The Provincial Special Administration has to give these documents.”

Ersoy, who explained with documents that the Grand Kartal Hotel received a license from the Provincial Special Administration in sections, continued as follows:

“The Grand Kartal Hotel acquired it in parts in 2015. It acquired it from the Provincial Special Administration. Having a valid business license means submitting a firefighting competency report. It acquired it for its restaurant in 2013 and for its buffet in 2014. It acquired another one in 2015. As I said, licenses are acquired from the Provincial Special Administration. If it is a valid document, I can conduct my own inspection. As a ministry, conducting fire inspections is not within our area of ​​expertise. This is a very technical issue. There are water pumps, pressure chambers, and a foam system inside. Our inspector has no chance of having that competency. I only did this; last year, I had it done by force. A fire broke out in two hotels in Kaleiçi, Antalya. Two Lebanese people lost their lives due to drowning. They passed away because there were no smoke detectors. They couldn’t do it on the walls of a registered building. They could have done a battery-powered system. We changed the regulation. I said, ‘Now my inspectors have to look at the smoke detectors.'”

Stating that the trial process is very important, that it should be followed to the end and that the case should be carried out with experts, Ersoy said, “It should not be seen as just a criminal case. As a result of a comprehensive trial, everyone should receive the necessary punishments in proportion to their responsibility. Depending on the results that will come out of this, we may need to make changes to the legislation and laws.”

Ersoy noted that the Ministry has closed only 100 facilities in 40 years, and that 4,380 facilities have been closed since 2022 because they did not meet the qualifications.

Ersoy, stating that they are currently continuing to close down, said, “Fire qualification cannot be obtained, there is pollution. The Ministry manages a very serious process regarding this qualification and certification. In Turkey, only the fire department issues the fire qualification certificate. No other institution can issue it. If a fire qualification certificate is required, it must be obtained from the relevant fire department. Since the district fire department is not sufficient, it must be obtained from the provincial municipality. What we mean by qualification is expertise qualification. There are firefighters/pump operators and also experts in the fire department. This is a very technical issue. Ministry inspectors do not inspect everything.”

Emphasizing that everyone must fulfil their responsibilities, Ersoy noted that the business owner also has a responsibility.

Pointing out the importance of all institutions involved in the certification process using their authority correctly, Ersoy said that in cases where punishment is necessary, exemplary punishments should be given and if there are to be changes in regulations and legislation, these should also be made.

Ersoy said, “We make the closure decision, the municipalities implement it. I gave instructions to the governorships in our last meeting. I wanted them to force the municipalities to complete the closure procedures. We have been carrying out a very effective and intensive program regarding this in the last 3 years. It is a work that no one has done before. We are putting all the documents in order. We are closing those that have not been completed.”

“WE HAVE ACCEPT YOUR PUBLICATION AS A NOTIFICATION AND REQUESTED THE RENEWAL OF THIS PLACE’S BUSINESS LICENSE”

Minister Ersoy stated that they accepted the publication made by the owner of the burned hotel regarding the deficiencies in his hotel in another location as a tip-off and that they had started the process.

Ersoy said, “We accepted your publication as a report and requested the renewal of the business license of this place. It will undergo inspection during the renewal anyway. If it is in the municipality’s neighboring area, the municipality will go, if not, the Provincial Special Administration will go and say, ‘I am renewing your business license, reorganize your documents, update them.’ The fire department has to go to update the business license anyway. He has to apply to the fire department for the update anyway.”

Minister Ersoy also responded to the questions that Ahmet Hakan said were brought up by CHP Chairman Özgür Özel.

Answering the question “Why hasn’t a fire department been established in the winter tourism region that operates at full capacity during the semester break?” Ersoy said, “Establishing a fire department is under the authority of the fire department. The fire department will request it from the Provincial Special Administration, and the Special Administration will make that request. If this has anything to do with financing, hoteliers etc. could have come together, provided support if necessary, and a fire station with 2-3 vehicles could have been established like the one in Uludağ. This is not in our area of ​​responsibility; it is a process that should primarily be carried out by the fire department.”

Minister Ersoy also answered the question, “How did the hotel continue its activities until today with the fire competence certificate it received from the Bolu Municipality, which was run by the AK Party at the time, in 2007?” as follows:

“When a business license needs to be renewed, it is renewed. It was renewed on May 17, 2013, and it was renewed on December 29, 2015. I do not base it on the fire department report. The renewal of a business license means that the fire department report and other reports are also renewed for me, the legislation requires it. The institution that gave me that document has to renew and give them. For this, it is the Provincial Special Administration.”

“110 BUSINESSES WERE GRANTED A 3-MONTH PERIOD”

In response to the question, “Why was the period for fire qualification certificates, which hotels must submit to the Ministry by April 30, 2024, according to the legislation, extended by making an exception?” Ersoy noted that this was a very different issue and stated that there was no business license requirement before 2005 and that this covered 110 facilities.

Ersoy said, “We requested a fire qualification report because there was a deficiency in the business licenses in 110 facilities. Since business certificates were issued without a business license, we said, ‘You should provide us with the qualification reports and send them.’ Fire qualification reports are not something you can get in a few months. Problems may arise, you may need to get a zoning permit. There is no fire escape, you need to make changes to the structure to put it in, you need to get a zoning permit for that. That’s why an extension was requested. A 3-month period was granted, but at the end of that period no extension was granted, and 42 of them were closed. The businesses of those who could not bring the qualification certificate at the end of 3 months were closed, and later, 2 of them were reopened because they received their qualification certificates.”

Minister Ersoy also responded to the question, “In December 2024, Bolu Municipality requested an inspection from the hotel, but the municipality did not issue a certificate of conformity. From which institution did the certificate of conformity come? From which institution did this hotel continue its activities with the certificate of conformity it came from?” as follows:

“Official institutions only receive fire competence certificates from fire departments. You cannot bring us a fire competence certificate from another institution, you have to bring it from the fire department, it is not valid. That is the problem. They are referring to the incident on December 12. They see these deficiencies on December 12. This is the point I am rebelling against. You go and personally determine these deficiencies, then you withdraw this determination, the request for a fire competence certificate. Instead of withdrawing the request, you need to inform the Provincial Special Administration to which that certificate will be given. You do not do this; you withdraw the certificate and give a partial fire competence certificate to another area. That is your second mistake. You close your eyes, knowing the inadequacy in the main building, and you give partial competence again to a small area. If this closing process had not been done and had been reported to a higher authority from the very beginning, the business license, this business would have been closed anyway, and when it was closed, we would not be talking about these today.”

“HE RECEIVED NEWLY REGULATED BUSINESS OPERATING LICENSES FOR DIFFERENT SECTIONS IN 2013 AND 2015”

Minister Ersoy answered Özel’s question, “The Minister of Culture and Tourism said that the hotel was inspected in 2021 and 2024 and that it has a fire adequacy certificate. Which institution issued these documents?” by saying, “In the 2021-2024 inspection reports, if we are going to an inspection, we first look at the file, whether there is a valid business license or not. Otherwise, we do not go to an inspection anyway, we directly start the closure process. There is a business license. In 2013 and 2015, it received newly issued business licenses for different sections. For me, this is an acceptance of a fire report. Under the business license, there is also a food report, and the Ministry of Health report is a document that shows that all the reports of the relevant institutions are complete, in my opinion.”  https://www.milliyet.com.tr/

 

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