Southern Romania: Guesthouse burns down on Christmas killing seven, one missing

"Ferma Dacilor," a guesthouse in the village of Gura Vadului, Prahova County, burned down on the second day of Christmas, killing seven people. One other person is missing.

At the time the fire broke out, there were 26 people in the guesthouse, who, according to available information available so far, were attending a party organized by the owner. Eighteen managed to evacuate in time. Two people, a child and an adult, were injured.

The building did not have a fire permit, and inspections were last conducted in 2019, when several irregularities were found and six warnings were issued. An investigation is now ongoing to find the causes and those responsible for this tragedy, according to Digi24.

According to early reports, one of the guests died trying to save two of his children from the burning guesthouse. The man was an employee of the restaurant, according to initial information obtained by the authorities. His wife and one of their children are among the victims who were taken to the hospital.

"It seems there was a private party, there were 26 people, a lot of young people. An adult person, 48 years old, tried to go save his children, but he couldn't make it out. His wife and one of the children were taken to the County Hospital this morning," said the Prahova prefect, Virgiliu Nanu, on Tuesday afternoon.

The part of the guesthouse that burned was a building with a restaurant, some accommodation spaces on the ground floor, and five rooms in the attic. The fire seems to have started not from the restaurant, but from the attic area, where the accommodation spaces were, the prefect added.

Initial investigations revealed that the fire might have been started on purpose. One of the tourists staying at the guesthouse is suspected of starting the fire while drunk, following a quarrel with his wife and after being thrown out of the guesthouse. Additionally, the possibility of a malfunction in the building’s wood-fired boiler is also taken into consideration, according to Adevarul.

Romania’s National Anticorruption Directorate, or DNA, became involved in the investigations in the aftermath of the fire after it was revealed that the guesthouse had been operating for four years without a fire safety permit.

(Photo source: Departamentul pentru Situatii de Urgenta on Facebook)