Those who locked it with padlocks took the keys and fled as it burned - the account of the woman who survived

The extremely tragic fire incident that recently occurred at the 'Senehasase Nawathena' elderly care home in Batagoda, Horana, and the helplessness of the residents who faced it, has now become a widely discussed topic in society. Through the detailed statement given to the media by a female resident who witnessed this unfortunate incident, the severe insecurity concerning patients and the irresponsible conduct of the staff at that center are clearly revealed.

According to her, at the time the fire broke out, all the residents were severely confined within the buildings, with no opportunity for any emergency exit.

She described the beginning of this series of events that occurred that night with a clear explanation. According to her, all the residents in the female section were put inside the building and locked from the outside by an employee named Sandamali. Similarly, all the residents in the male section were put inside and locked by Sandamali's husband. "Sandamali Akka locked all the women inside with a key. Sandamali Akka's husband locked all the men inside," she confirmed, stating that none of the patients had any ability to independently leave the building at that moment. It had become a common practice for Sandamali, who was in charge of putting the female patients to bed, and her husband, who was in charge of the male patients, to lock both sides in this manner. Although the kitchen side was not locked, it had become a habit for the staff to lock the sections where residents were staying from the outside with padlocks.

She recalled that on the day of the incident, all the residents were listening near the doors to an announcement made via loudspeakers about a Vesak lantern displayed in the Batagoda area for the last time, and after that, they returned to the ward, sitting on beds and the floor, talking to each other. According to her, she described that moment by saying, "After that, those people went to the kitchen to cook. Ushan Aiya, Sumanasiri Aiya, Sandamali Akka, and Sandamali Akka's husband went to the kitchen to cook." At that time, Mr. Manula and Mr. Isuru, considered the heads of the center, were not in the building; only Ushan, Kurulu, and Wasika were present.

This peaceful environment where residents were spending their time suddenly turned into terror due to a sudden fire that erupted from the male section. The fire was first spotted by a resident who was moving with the aid of a walker. He frantically informed the others. "There was someone walking with a walker on the other side. They suddenly said, 'Look, a fire is starting.' We all looked. That's when I saw the fire coming from the pile of mattresses in the male section," she described that terrifying moment to the media. She also mentioned that she did not know exactly how the fire started.

Although the patients, seeing the fire rapidly spreading, became extremely agitated and screamed, they were already in a state of severe helplessness. The main reason for this was that the doors to their wards were locked from the outside. "We all started screaming. Now we had nothing we could do. When we suddenly came to the door, both sides were locked," her words clearly explain the tragedy they faced at that moment, gripped by the fear of death. The most serious aspect here was the conduct of the staff who were in charge of the keys. Instead of trying to save the patients' lives or open the doors, they panicked and fled the scene. "They didn't open the doors with the keys. They just ran. The people who had the keys also ran, and we screamed from outside," she stated with great shock.

The result of this negligence was extremely tragic. At the moment the fire spread, some patients were tied to their beds. "There were two people tied up. Both of them died," she revealed, indicating that two innocent lives were lost to the fire due to these inhumane restrictions. Although villagers could have come to control the fire or rescue the patients, the main gate of the center was also locked with padlocks, preventing anyone from entering or exiting. Later, somehow, someone opened the door of the male section, allowing a group of people to save their lives and come out.

This woman also revealed the reason for such severe confinement of the patients. A past incident where a patient known as 'Media Achchi' escaped from the center was the root cause. After that incident, the key-keeping system at the center was changed; placing keys where patients could access them in an emergency was stopped, and key custody was entirely restricted to Sandamali, her husband, and Ushan. This arbitrary control system, which left no room for patients to act independently in an emergency, ultimately led to the unfortunate deaths of two patients who were tied up.