Kamień Pomorski homeless hostel fire

The hostel, originally a workers' hotel, was previously described as an unsafe building.[3] It was a three-story structure originally built as one-story in the early 1970s; two stories made of highly flammable materials were added later.[3]

Survivors have reported that this was not the first fire to occur at the hostel. The address was also known to the police, as many people were housed in the hostel by the social services.[5] At least seventy-seven people were sheltered in the building while waiting to be provided with alternative housing, but the number of people actually staying in the hotel durng the night of the fire was unclear.[3][4][6][7]

Polish firefighters searching for victims.

The fire is believed to have started around midnight on April 13 (23:00 UTC), but the first report was received by the Fire Department as late as 00:32 Polish Time (23:32 UTC) followed by reports to the police and paramedics. The firefighters arrived at 00:36 and helped to evacuate people, but despite a quick response arrived to find four-fifths of the hostel already in flames with hallways blocked by thick black smoke.[1] By 00:43 the fire escalated and the firefighters were unable to continue the evacuation. 41 people escaped and 20 were located in hospitals.[8]

Many of the survivors jumped out of the building, because the available rescue ladders could only reach the first floor.[4] Children were taken from their beds by their parents and hurled through windows as firefighters and onlookers grabbed them and brought them to safety.[3][1] Common injuries as a result of the fire include burns,[3] smoke inhalation,[3] and fractured bones.[1][6][7] Many of the corpses were charred beyond recognition, which caused the death toll to be underestimated at first[3] Some of the casualties were visiting the building and were not necessarily permanently housed there.[5]

The hostel was completely destroyed[4] and the corpses of many people were charred beyond recognition in a fire that the BBC called "one of the deadliest in living memory".[3] Images broadcast on television showed "huge flames reaching high into the sky above the roof"[4] and the "charred, gutted shell" of the hostel.[7] Several hours were spent extinguishing the fire, with twenty-one fire crews on hand to assist.[3]

In the morning, the media reported that six children were listed as dead. Some reports mentioned that an eight months old infant perished,[1][9] but it was later reported that it is in stable condition at the hospital.[10] One individual was listed as having sustained "serious injuries".[4]

The death toll was first announced as 21, but two persons were still missing – due to the way the building was used and witness testimonies saying they were seen leaving the building during the fire it was unclear whether they left the building. By the end of April twenty bodies and four pieces of bodies were found of the scene, and after DNA tests it was discovered that the pieces were the remainings of the missing persons, revising the death toll to 23, including 13 children aged from 2 to 16.[11] It was Poland's deadliest fire since a fire destroyed a home for the mentally ill in Górna Grupa in 1980 claiming the lives of 55 victims.[1]

Three days of national mourning were declared in Poland to begin at midnight following the fire.[3][1][7][12] The country's Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, who was on an Easter holiday like many of the victims,[6] flew to Kamień Pomorski, promising new housing and aid for the survivors.[3] The country's President, Lech Kaczyński, also made an appearance.[3]

The President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev,[13] European Commission chairman José Manuel Barroso, Ukraine president Viktor Yushchenko,[14] France Prime Minister Nicolas Sarkozy[15] and Minister of Foreign Affaits Bernard Kouchner[16] sent condolences.

• List of Poland disasters by death toll