A fire broke out in a Ljubljana student dorm early on 30 January, leaving several students injured, three of whom remain hospitalised, one of them in critical condition.

Firefighters responded to the fire at the dorm in Poljanska Road just after 4am. Arriving at the scene, they found a number of people trapped on window sills, so the priority was to rescue them, Klemen Zupančič, the head of the response effort, said

Firefighters rescued a total of 45 people from the building with the help of a ladder and special protective masks.

They managed to extinguish the blaze within an hour, and all 363 people who were inside the building were evacuated, Robert Okorn from the Ljubljana Fire Department said.

One student with severe burs, two with fractures

Eleven students have been taken to Ljubljana UKC hospital, six with injuries, while five had to seek medical assistance due to smoke inhalation.

"One of the injured is in critical condition and is currently in an operating theatre, treated for burns," Uroš Tominc, head of the emergency surgical unit, told reporters.

The others were injured mostly as they jumped out of the building from the first floor in an attempt to flee the fire. Two will undergo surgery for spinal and ankle fractures, he said, adding that the other three will likely be discharged later in the day.

No fire alarms in the building

Initial reports indicated that the fire broke out in one of the rooms on the first floor before the flames spread to other parts of the building. While investigation is ongoing, it has transpired the building does not have fire alarms.

The dormitory is one of several in the area and sleeps secondary school students during the school year and serves as a hostel for tourists in summer. The building is not far from the UKC hospital and a voluntary fire brigade is also based nearby.

Some students told media that the fire alarm had not gone off in the building. In a press statement later, Šemso Mujanović, the head of the Ivan Cankar Dormitory that manages three units in the area, confirmed that the building does not have fire alarms or fire escapes, but it has two entrances and two staircases.

Apart from the students, a security guard was the only member of the staff present in the building when the fire broke out and he notified firefighters and took first steps to rescue the students.

More 360 students who were evacuated have been accommodated in a building nearby or have gone home. Mujanović said the biggest concern at the moment was the condition of the injured students, expressing the hope that "they will be alright".

He said the dormitory does not have fire alarms because they are not prescribed by law, but they have all other fire protection such as fire extinguishers. He said violations of fire regulations had never been detected at the dorm.

Education Minister Vinko Logaj announced legislative changes to step up the fire protection system in such buildings, including by making it mandatory to install fire alarms.

There are currently 17 secondary school dorms without installed fire alarms in the country, he said.

A total 77 firefighters from four units with 23 vehicles took part in the rescue operation.