The owner of Ferma Dacilor and two administrators were detained

Cornel Dinicu, the de facto owner of Ferma Dacilor, and two administrators were detained on Tuesday for 24 hours, announced the Prosecutor’s Office attached to the Prahova Court. Cornel Dinicu, the man who presented himself as the founder of the Ferma Dacilor tourist complex, was detained on Tuesday by the Prahov prosecutors, after he was questioned along with five other people, in the file opened following the fire in which eight people, including three children, died.

Dinicu’s name does not appear in the documents of the company that manages Ferma Dacilor, but in December 2023, a few days before the devastating fire, Dinicu gave interviews in the central and local press, in which he presented himself as the owner of the complex and talked about how founded Ferma Dacilor.

The owner of the Ferma Dacilor boarding house, Cornel Dinicu, posted on the Facebook page of the boarding house a long message that he calls a public confession and the only way to tell the truth, expecting to be arrested after his son’s burial. He sent his condolences to the families of those who were in the boarding house on the tragic night and lost their loved ones. Dinicu tells that the Dacian Farm was his dream, realized over time, and obtaining the necessary authorizations was not at all easy, as he had no political connections. The building, according to Dinicu, had all the measures taken to avoid such a tragedy and he believes that it is about a criminal hand.

The prosecutors who handle the “Dacian Farm” file convey, in a press release, that they do not rule out the possibility that the fire was set, supported by the owner of the boarding house, but specify that until this moment there are no indications in this regard. Prosecutors also state that the chances of the victims being able to save themselves “were almost non-existent”, taking into account a number of problems that the said location had. They requested the preventive arrest for 30 days of the boss and the two administrators.

Prosecutors state that they are not ruling out any hypothesis in the investigation, but so far there is no evidence to show that the fire was set intentionally. The probable source of the fire was the “thermal effect of the electric current”, as the commercial company was connected to the electricity supply network based on a contract concluded in 2014, for a non-domestic consumer type natural person, place of consumption with the name “water pump” having a power of 8.00 Kw, insufficient to support the electric consumers of a boarding house, reports the Prosecutor’s Office.

Prosecutors list a number of problems with the location, including the lack of a building permit, undersized electrical installation, attic made of highly flammable wood not provided with optimal escape routes, as well as the non-functional fire detection, signaling and alarm system with a certified electrical installation, undersized (power of 8 kw). “In relation to the real needs of such a consumer, places the three defendants at fault in relation to the production of the result consisting in a disaster, because in the conditions described, in relation to the lack of safety of the rooms offered as accommodation, the real chances that the victims could save themselves were almost non-existent”, the statement added.

Prosecutors state in a press release that the Ferma Dacilor tourist complex was built without permits and has operated that way since the beginning. Moreover, the subsequent steps for “entering legality” were carried out in violation of the law, the prosecutors say, stating that Ferma Dacilor did not have a fire safety permit.

“The previously exposed situation created the conditions for the outbreak and propagation on 26.12.2023, around 05:45, of a fire that led to the destruction of the building and the death of 7 natural persons, the probable source of the fire being “the thermal effect of the electricity”, the prosecutors’ press release states.

The prosecutors also established that both the current mayor of the Gura Vadului commune and the former mayor, together with civil servants from the town hall, issued “certificates attesting the construction/extension of the construction, attesting to facts or circumstances that do not correspond to the truth, omitting to verify the fulfillment of the conditions provided by the law“, which led to the violation of the “fundamental rights to bodily integrity and life” of the tourists who stayed at Ferma Dacilor.

In addition, the prosecutors also decided on Tuesday to detain for 24 hours the “three natural persons having the capacity of administrators (one statutory administrator and two de facto administrators)” of the Ferma Dacilor complex. The announcement of the Prosecutor’s Office of the Prahova Court.

Prosecutors from the Prosecutor’s Office attached to the Prahova Court claim that the owner of Ferma Dacilor built the tourist complex “under his own direction”, without any approvals and authorizations, operating “systematically” in violation of the law. Moreover, even when he wanted to enter legality, the boss Cornel Dinicu tried to do so by breaking the law, the investigators also show. These were the premises that led to the fire on the second day of Christmas, the probable cause of which was the overloading of the electrical network, state the prosecutors.

The prosecutors state that the construction of the entire complex – the main body of the building, which includes a restaurant, kitchen and accommodation spaces on the ground floor and attic – “was carried out under its own direction, without obtaining building permits and authorization”.

Moreover, and when he wanted to enter into legality, the patron broke the law. “At the same time, the steps and measures ordered for “entering into legality” were carried out in violation of the legal provisions, respectively of Law no. 50/1991 republished regarding the authorization of the execution of construction works and Law no. 10/1995 republished on quality in construction”, the press release also states. In addition to the lack of a building permit, Ferma Dacilor also operated without a fire safety permit. 

Also, it must be stated that the tourist unit operated in violation of the provisions of Law no. 307/2006 on fire protection, H.G.R. no. 571/2016 for the approval of construction categories that are subject to approval and/or authorization regarding fire safety and the applicable regulations in the field, respectively without obtaining the approvals and authorizations that should have been issued by the Inspectorate for Emergency Situations for proper functioning, and without complying with fire safety rules.

All this led to the tragedy on December 26, 2023, when Ferma Dacilor caught fire, resulting in the death of several people, including the son of Cornel Dinicu.

“The previously exposed situation created the conditions for the outbreak and propagation on 26.12.2023, around 05:45, of a fire that led to the destruction of the building and the death of 7 natural persons, the probable source of the fire being “the thermal effect of electric current”, state the prosecutors.