Slovakia offers help to Poland after quarter of village devastated in fire

The village of Nowa Biała in southern Poland was devastated by its worst fire in three decades over the weekend, with a quarter of its houses damaged in the blaze. The destruction was worsened by the village’s historic architecture, with buildings closely packed together.

In response to the disaster, Poland’s prime minister has visited the site, while his Slovakian counterpart has offered help to the village, which is near the border between the two countries and has a sizeable Slovak minority.

There were no fatalities reported as a result of the fire, but nine people were injured and damage to property has been estimated at millions of zloty. The blaze took hours to put out, with over 400 firefighters from 107 units in nine districts involved.

An investigation into the fire was launched on Sunday. “It is too early to talk about the causes,” said Sebastian Gleń, spokesman for the Małopolska police, who said that several dozen properties in the area of ​​about one hectare would be studied by 20 investigators.

Families who have lost homes have been provided with alternative accommodation. During his emergency visit to the village on Sunday, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that there would be an expedited path to obtain building permits to allow for the quick reconstruction of houses in an area that is protected by conservators.

The fire in Nowa Biała was made worse by its unique architectural heritage. The village’s buildings are tightly packed between two main streets, with rows of residential buildings facing the roads and farm buildings in the back.

The layout was once meant to make it easier to defend the village against attacks. During Saturday’s fire, however, it helped the blaze to spread quickly – aided by high winds – ultimately damaging 25 residential and around 50 farm buildings, reports Onet.

“Such a fire in any other place in Poland would not have a chance to develop in such a short time,” said a firefighter. “One house was on fire and immediately the fire was already in the next.”

Following Saturday’s fire, experts questioned whether the historic buildings in the village conform to construction laws and if the required distances between buildings have been preserved, reports Wirtualna Polska.

The village has faced a number of fires in past years. In 2009, nine barns, which, unlike the brick residential buildings, are mostly wooden, burned down amid a blaze tackled by 122 firefighters. Almost a decade later, another fire ravaged six more farm buildings, with 180 firefighters called to contend with the blaze.

Moreover, the village often faces flooding from the nearby Białka river, which overflows following heavy rainfall.

The latest disaster drew an international reaction, with Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger tweeting on Sunday that his country was “ready to provide any help” needed.

Morawiecki responded by expressing gratitude that Poland could “always count on [its] friendship with Slovakia”. The Polish prime minister also said that all residents in need would be provided with state aid, regardless of nationality. “We will help everyone,” he assured.

Janusz Wojciechowski, Poland’s European commissioner responsible for agriculture, also announced that those who suffered in the fire could access aid in the form of EU agricultural funds.

The archbishop of nearby Kraków, Marek Jędraszewski, celebrated a mass in Nowa Biała, saying that such events are “a test of faith” and pledging help from his curia.

Poland faced a heatwave over the weekend, which has continued into the start of this week. Temperatures reached 35.8 degrees Celsius in Świnoujście on Saturday and then 36.1 degrees in Słubice on Sunday, the highest recorded in Poland so far this year.

Main image credit: Adam Guz/KPRM (under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Maria Wilczek

Maria Wilczek is deputy editor of Notes from Poland. She is a regular writer for The Times, The Economist and Al Jazeera English, and has also featured in Foreign Policy, Politico Europe, The Spectator and Gazeta Wyborcza.