An escape room, which is the subject of a recently released movie in the US, is part of an increasingly popular game in which players are locked in a room and forced to solve a series of riddles within a certain amount of time in order to be released.
An official with knowledge of the incident told Polish news station TVN24 that unidentified man was transported to a local hospital's intensive care unit. He sustained first and second degree burns to his body.
— Sotiri Dimpinoudis (@sotiridi) January 4, 2019
According to Polish news outlet Onet, the fire broke out at roughly 5 p.m. local time when all five girls were inside one of the establishment's popular escape rooms. Although officials have not yet determined the cause of the fire, local media reports have cited experts who have suggested that the incident was likely triggered by a gas cylinder.
One firefighter told Onet reporters that when first responders came onto the scene, the fire had "already mastered all the rooms on the ground floor" and was making its way outside of the facility.
It's presently unclear why the five girls were unable to be released from the escape room.
"In connection with the tragedy in Koszalin I wish to convey sympathy and grief for the families of the victims of fire," Joachim Brudziński, Poland's minister of interior, tweeted, before noting that he'd ordered an inspection of all escape rooms in the country.
According to AFP, there are more than 1,000 such attractions in the country.
