Author: The Associated Press / Source: New York Times
Emergency workers at the site of a deadly blaze in Koszalin, Poland, on Friday. The interior minister has ordered fire safety checks at “escape room” sites across the country. Agencja Gazeta, via Reuters
A fire that broke out at an “escape room” game in northern Poland, killed five teenage girls and injured a man, the authorities said on Saturday.
The blaze began around 5 p.m. Friday in Koszalin, about 240 miles northwest of Warsaw. The cause of the fire was being investigated. At first, firefighters on Saturday blamed substandard electrical wiring and lax security procedures at the escape room for the fire.
Poland’s firefighting chief, Leszek Suski, said that the electrical wiring at the venue was too close to flammable materials.
“Security was not ensured and that led to the tragedy,” Chief Suski said, adding that there had been no proper evacuation route and a “lot of negligence” at the location.
But later, the Koszalin prosecutor, Ryszard Gasiorowski, said a leak in the bottled gas heating system at the venue might be to blame.
Mr. Gasiorowski said the fire probably broke out in the reception room and blocked a pathway to evacuate the girls. Officials said the victims probably died of asphyxiation. Autopsies will be carried out to confirm the cause of the deaths.
None of them were immediately identified.
Interior Minister Joachim Brudzinski said the girls were all…
The post ‘Escape Room’ Fire in Poland Kills 5 Teenage Girls appeared first on FeedBox.