Within one hour everything was cinders and ash. The house of Grigor Krongo, Category II cultural monument in the Pazar i Vjetër neighborhood of Gjirokastra, had been transformed into a ruin on Sunday morning.
“We arrived quickly, but the flames had done their work… Nevertheless there were no injured people and fortunately we managed to save the neighboring house,” says Vasil Cekani, the chief of the local fire brigade.
When the firefighters arrived at the location, they found that half of the main door was missing and that an iron grill had been placed inside the gap.
The building had been unoccupied and the owners had been living in emigration for a long time. Ironically, one of them, Thanas Kamberi, is known in the city as a scholar, who previously used to work in the Atelie (currently the Regional Directorate for National Culture, DRKK) and was responsible for the protection of cultural heritage.
“It’s very well possible that the fire was caused by accident, by some vagrant that spent the night under roof. This two-floor house has been abandoned for a long time and we have cut off the electricity, but someone has entered inside and, after starting a fire, perhaps for himself, has left, leaving the fire on,” Çekani concludes.
The house is situated at a nice spot and is very attractive for tourists, so its ruin will have noticeable effect on the historical-architectural ensemble of the buildings in the stone city.
According to Kreshnik Merxhani, former employee of the DRKK Gjirokastra, “the Krongo building is traditionally known as the ‘House of Vasilika,’ and is one of the most emblematic buildings near the entrance of the Pazar i Vjetër. Its destruction is the result of abandonment and maladministration.” In despair he adds, “This loss can be added to the other monuments we lost to fire, such as the Kokalari and Hadëri houses.”
One year ago, Minister of Culture Mirela Kumbaro published the list of historical buildings in the center of Gjirokastra, and Krongo’s building was declared a Category II monument according to Order no. 135, signed on May 11, 2016.
In the meantime, under the pretense that they were following the recommendations and directives of UNESCO, in which a “more precise calssification” was sought, the Ministry of Culture and the Institute of Monuments left 244 buildings off the list.
As part of a propaganda campaign about the revitalization of historical zones, the government approved in July 2015 the Regulation for the Integrated Protection and Conservation of the Protected Zone of Gjirokastra and, according to art. 19, “Every cultural monument has to be outfitted with a portable fire extinguisher.”
Such as request, namely outfitting the historical zone of Gjirokastra with portable fire extinguishers, was considered a fundamental condition in the UNESCO report drafted by Eleni Maistrou in November 2012.
But, as usually happens in Albania, the measure only remained on paper. Even if a part of the portable extinguishers was indeed placed, they didn’t work last Sunday.
“Also here the water doesn’t come 24/7 and the portable extinguishers don’t work, so we had to bring a 10,000 liter fire truck. Nevertheless, we were close and arrived on time,” Çekani explains.
“Their installation is just a facade!,” architect Merxhani exclaims, “the hydrants need to have their own tanks, independent from the central water system where the rest of city receives its water from.”
Naturally, the prosecution will as always start an investigation and the fire brigade will draft its final expert report. But one thing is clear by now: the carelessness and disregard of the government will transform the Historical Zone of Gjirokastra into a ruin!
