Vasile Dima arrested at last
And so today, we finally see the arrest of one Vasile Dima, head of maintenance at Giulesti, a far more guilty party than Florentina Carstea, for he was responsible for training staff for evacuation in the event of a fire, the equipment itself, inspections and fire prevention materials... Gross negligence in every one of these tasks listed in his job description, if I am not mistaken.
Here is an article from Romania Libera that I have translated so please excuse any linguistic errors:
A new arrest concerning Giuleşti : Head of technical services , criminal investigation
The head of maintenance at Giulesti Maternity Vasile Dima was detained for 24 hours today by prosecutors of the High Court of Cassation and Justice (POHCCJ) in the criminal case relating to the fire of August 16 , according to The Telegraph.
Dima Vasile was responsible for the monitoring and verification of hospital facilities and for training employees in compliance in fire protection.
Prosecutors have submitted a proposal for Dima Vasile’s arrest to the judge of sector 6 in Bucharest.
Prosecutors in Criminal Prosecution and the Criminal Division of the Prosecutor's Office of the High Court of Cassation and Justice (POHCCJ) ordered criminal prosecution against Dima Vasile, who is accused of professional negligence, leading to very serious consequences.
Investigators say that the evidence given so far shows that Dima as Head of the Technical Department of the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Hospital "Prof. Panait Sarbu ( Giulesti Maternity Hospital ), failed to fulfill his duties
Dima had not taken steps to ensure the smooth operation of facilities, equipment, maintenance nor reviews according to technical charts. He failed to take measures for fire prevention, although he was head of civilian fire prevention training at the hospital, designated by the management of the health unit, prosecutors say.
"The consequence was a very serious breach of professional duties, considering the fire resulted in the deaths of five new-borns and injured six others. It also damaged the smooth running of the hospital and lead to extensive material damage," say the investigators.
As this news broke, Vasile Dima was removed from the premises by POHCCJ investigators, and taken to the District Court of sector 6 to debate a request for preventive arrest.
The following statement was released today from the High Court of Cassation and Justice by chief investigator Marius Iacob: "The scientific and technical reports from the Labour Inspectorate ( ITM ) to determine the cause of the fire show the existence of improvised electric conductors . (...) The fire had two phases. The first was in a normal environment, but then spread very quickly when it came into contact with compressed air and oxygen leaked into the room.”
In the first phase, Iacob explained reading from the technical report produced by the Institute of Petrosani, the fire developed in normal atmosphere. The second took place, continued Iacob, in an environment enriched with atmospheric oxygen from two sources. One source of oxygen was that already present in the room and the second was from compressed tanks which increased the strength of the fire in a short time.
So far in this case, Florentina Cârstea, the nurse in charge of the babies at the time, has been the only person arrested. Her appeal will be made to the Bucharest Court judge on Monday.
In a press statement last Monday, prosecutor Marius Iacob said flames engulfed ten percent of the babies ward. At the onset of the fire " in the normal environment”, the nurse who should have been monitoring the room went missing for at least 12 minutes.
Prosecutors have ordered criminal charges against Hospital " Panait Sarbu " - Giulesti Maternity.
Marius Iacob chief prosecutor said investigators found breach of safety rules within the workplace, within security of electrical systems and within human resources management all of which could lead to the prosecution of other individuals.
Investigators await expert preliminary findings made by specialists from Petrosan, which could lead to further measures being taken.
So far, prosecutors have questioned the former manager of the maternity unit, Bogdan Marinescu and his replacement, Victoria Nicolau, an anesthetist.
Five babies died in the fire of August 16 at Giulesti Maternity while six were severely injured and taken to the Grigore Alexandrescu Hospital, where one remains on life support.
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It was pointed out to me that Vasile Dima does look very very much like the man who was interviewed by hidden camera the other day - the very same man who heartlessly declared that the babies should have died anyway. See photo of Dima here and see video here to draw your own conclusions. He said in the film that he wasn't qualified enough to inspect the work of the electricians...that should be a massive boost for Florentina Carstea's defence and make her rather ropey lawyer's job a bit easier.
On another front, I sent a letter to the Order of Nurses, Midwives and Medical Assistants yesterday in support of Florentina Carstea and had a reply this afternoon with the link to see my letter published - Here it is. Izabela Agavriloaie and the Order is very much supporting Florentina Carstea and about to publish an online petition that I hope you will all sign. It will be asking for a fair trial at the very least, I am sure. Perhaps with the arrest of Vasile Dima, the witch-hunt and wide-spread condamnation of Florentina Carstea will come to an end - there are far bigger fish to fry after all. Please go to this site for news from the Order on petitions, support letters etc. Either please add your comment or write your own letter of support. At the very least, sign the petition... Florence Carstea really is a victim of a gangrenous system - and she is not to blame for it. But Marinescu is. Ranga is. Cseke is. Oprescu is. Savu is...and further down the rocky road, Vasile Dima is, too. Most certainly. He should be feeling very afraid indeed. Now, media, please leave Florentina alone, unless you can focus on her exemplary professional record and dedication to her babies, the 12 minutes absence less focused on than the 12h shift in total, the unfairness and unjust treatment she has had to suffer and the fact that she is nothing more than a scapegoat so Marinescu doesn't get his hands dirty.
I hope you noticed, incidentally, that he turned up to be questioned with legal representation whereas Florentina did not have that option. Notice also that not a word has been uttered regarding his statement. Florentina's statements that came out all higgledy-piggledy due to panic and terror were splashed all over every tabloid. Spot the difference. Marinescu can pay a good lawyer and has one. Florentina cannot and doesn't... It is also important to add here the very idea of her being under preventive arrest. She is a danger to no-one except, perhaps, herself. So why was she arrested? Marinescu wasn't. Ranga wasn't. And it took over a week to get handcuffs on Dima... curious.