The blaze broke out around 9 a.m. in Dilovası, an industrial district of Kocaeli province east of Istanbul, officials said.
ISTANBUL, Turkey — A fire at a perfume depot in northwestern Turkey on Saturday morning killed six people and left at least one person injured after reported explosions, provincial authorities said. The blaze began about 9 a.m. in Kocaeli’s Dilovası district and was brought under control within roughly an hour by arriving fire crews.
The incident drew a swift emergency response and an immediate investigation. Kocaeli Governor Ilhami Aktas confirmed the deaths and said one survivor was being treated. Local outlets reported the fire followed several blasts inside the two-story depot, raising concerns about how flammable inventories were stored. Officials did not identify the victims Saturday or release the company’s name, and the exact cause remains unknown. The industrial zone where the depot sits houses numerous warehouses and small factories along key highways that connect Istanbul to the wider Marmara region, where accidents can quickly threaten dense neighborhoods and vital freight corridors.
Witness video posted from nearby streets showed a column of thick, black smoke rising above low-slung warehouses as firefighters trained hoses on blown-out openings. Crews from neighboring districts joined the response, and ambulances staged outside as police sealed approaches to allow water tenders through. “Six people lost their lives,” Governor Aktas told reporters at the scene, adding that teams had controlled the flames and were cooling hotspots. He said the focus was on search and recovery inside the structure and on documenting where the fire appeared to start. Neighbors described hearing successive bangs before flames jumped through the roofline, a pattern consistent with volatile materials igniting, though authorities cautioned that investigators had not reached any conclusions.
Emergency officials said the building’s remaining walls were checked for stability before forensic teams entered. The governor said one person was hospitalized; several outlets carried higher injury figures earlier in the day, which officials did not confirm by evening. Dilovası, a hub for chemicals, logistics and light manufacturing about 45 miles east of Istanbul, has seen rapid expansion of warehouse space along the E80 motorway. Saturday’s fire burned through perfume stock kept for distribution, according to early accounts, leaving shelving collapsed and charred packaging in loading bays. Power to parts of the industrial estate was briefly cut while crews worked, and municipal workers spread absorbent material at storm drains to keep runoff from entering waterways.
Industrial accidents are a recurring concern across Turkey’s manufacturing belt. In December 2024, a blast at an explosives plant in Balıkesir province killed a dozen workers, prompting renewed scrutiny of storage and inspection regimes. Kocaeli itself has recorded several fires in mixed-use industrial areas in recent years, including chemical and plastics facilities that required multi-agency responses. The Marmara region’s dense logistics network and proximity to residential districts elevate the stakes when flammable goods are involved, particularly in older structures where fire breaks and ventilation may lag modern codes. Saturday’s incident again highlights the difficulty of fighting fast-moving fires fueled by alcohol-based products common in fragrance warehousing.
Authorities said prosecutors and fire investigators opened a probe to determine how the blaze started and whether safety rules were followed at the depot. Officials said they would review storage records, security camera footage and recent inspection reports, and would take statements from managers and workers who were off-site at the time. Autopsies were expected for those killed to confirm causes of death, while technicians documented the scene before debris removal. Officials said they would release the names of the victims after families were notified. No criminal charges had been announced by Saturday evening, and officials did not indicate when preliminary findings would be shared.
By late afternoon, firefighters remained on rotation to prevent reignition as smoke thinned over the industrial estate. Residents living on nearby hills described a sharp chemical odor in the morning that faded as crews cooled the site. A shopkeeper said traffic returned slowly after police reopened a service road around midday. “It was terrifying; we heard two loud booms and then the sky went dark,” said a delivery driver who arrived after the first blasts. Local officials said environmental teams took air readings and that crews would continue monitoring overnight while investigators mapped burn patterns inside the gutted depot.
As of Saturday evening, officials said the fire was out and the site secured for investigators, with the death toll at six and at least one person hospitalized. Authorities said they would provide updates as the investigation advances in the coming days.
Author note: Last updated November 8, 2025.