The man entered the family home in Palczewo. He smelled smoke inside, found his father in the bed, and his brother in the bathroom. They were both dead. The younger of them is Krystian Betliński, mayor of Piotrków Kujawski. He was 32 years old.
On Sunday at 1:34 p.m., the fire brigade was alerted about unconscious men in a single-family house in Palczewo. It is a village in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, Radziejów County, Piotrków Kujawski Commune. Carbon monoxide poisoning was suspected.
– It turned out that the unconscious men were already dead. One was 67 years old, the other 32. They are father and son, says junior brigadier Michał Sochaczewski from the State Fire Service in Radziejów.
Sochaczewski confirms that the younger man is Krystian Betliński, mayor of Piotrków Kujawski.
The house smelled of smoke, the stove had long since gone out
– When we arrived, the police were already there. The windows of the house were open and the rooms were ventilated. Our detectors did not detect an increased concentration of carbon monoxide – says junior brigadier Michał Sochaczewski from the State Fire Service in Radziejów.
Firefighters assume that it was carbon monoxide that killed the mayor and his father. The circumstances indicate this. – The victims' brother and son entered the house through a window that was slightly open. He said there was smoke inside, says Sochaczewski.
The house was heated by a solid fuel stove, without an automatic feeder. It is a type of furnace that needs fuel. Meanwhile, at 1:34 p.m. on Sunday, the fireplace was extinguished and the furnace temperature was 12 degrees Celsius. Therefore, if poisoning occurred, it most likely happened late on Saturday evening or at night.
– The younger man was lying in the bathroom, which is located next to the boiler room. The older one was in the room, in bed, says Sochaczewski.
Mayor Krystian Betliński is dead. He was a teacher
Krystian Betliński became mayor in this year's local elections. In the second round, he defeated the incumbent mayor Sławomir Bogucki. They both ran from local committees. He was a teacher by profession, before becoming mayor, he taught at a primary school in Piotrków Kujawski.
Friends of the Volunteer Fire Department in Piotrków Kujawski said goodbye to the mayor on social media. “Our Mayor and Friend passed away with his Father. Memories will remain with us, as well as the image of a good man like Krystian Betliński. Thank you for the good times. Goodbye, but not goodbye!” – wrote volunteer firefighters.
Main photo source: KKW Teraz Us