The fire in Ödemiş was caused by GDZ Electric's old poles

İzmir Governor Süleyman Elban stated that the fires in Foça, Aliağa, Çeşme and Ödemiş were caused by electricity, but GDZ Elektrik denied responsibility, saying there was “no evidence”.

Speaking to Yenigün’s Nurcan Etik, Tosunlar Village Headman Recep Fırtına said the fire started when the electric cables between two poles snapped due to strong winds. Noting that the electric poles were wooden and the lines were old, Fırtına claimed that GDZ Elektrik had previously announced that it would make changes to the lines and poles “this year” but the fire occurred before it could be changed.

In another village affected by the fire in Ödemiş, Yeniköy, the headman Mehmet Kıvrak stated that the poles were wooden and the lines were old, and said, “Everyone knew that the lines needed to be changed.” Kıvrak also emphasized that a wooden pole that fell onto the road in Yeniköy prevented the fire brigade from intervening and that the villagers had to pull the pole with tractors, and said, “If it was a concrete pole, we would not encounter such obstacles.”

DISASTER COMES BEFORE I CAN CHANGE IT

Recep Fırtına, the headman of Tosunlar Village, where the fire disaster that reduced Ödemiş to ashes started, spoke to Yenigün about the moment of the fire and what happened before it. “The wind was very strong that day, the wires between two poles snapped. That’s how the fire started and we couldn’t stop it,” said Fırtına, emphasizing that the electricity poles in their village were wooden and the electricity lines were old. While stating that they had not encountered a negative incident such as sparking before, Fırtına said, “GDZ Elektrik said they would replace both the wooden poles and the old lines this year, but everything happened before they could.”

“EVERYONE KNEW!”

Yeniköy Headman Mehmet Kıvrak, who emphasized that the power lines coming to his village were quite long and old, said, “I had spoken to GDZ Elektrik about this. The power had been increased and I had requested that the lines be changed if they could not handle it. In fact, it was known by everyone that the lines needed to be changed.”

IT ALSO PREVENTED FIRE INTERVENTION

Kıvrak stated that when the fire reached Yeniköy, wooden poles fell onto the road and prevented the fire crews from responding to the fire, and said, “Fire crews could not pass through the road. We, the villagers, had to cut the wires and pull the poles with tractors. People panicked to see if there was electricity, but since the fire had already destroyed many places by the time it reached us on the second day, it was not possible to have electricity.” On the other hand, Kıvrak made a call to prevent panic among the people at the time of the fire and to ensure that the intervention teams could work as quickly as possible, and said, “It is essential that the teams that come to intervene in the fire have electrical engineers or someone from GDZ Elektrik. People do not know what to do with the electrical wires and poles. This situation not only creates panic but also disrupts the teams’ work.” Kıvrak said, “If there were concrete poles, we would not have encountered such an obstacle,” and stated that work to replace the wooden poles with concrete poles had begun after the fire.

Source: Yenigun