Five-year-old girl in critical condition after wooden shed collapse near Tarnów
A five-year-old girl was hospitalized in critical condition on 3 October 2026 after part of a wooden shed collapsed on her during home renovation work in Wola Rzędzińska, Poland.
Collapse during property renovation
On Saturday morning, 3 October 2026, emergency services responded to a serious accident in Wola Rzędzińska near Tarnów in the Lesser Poland region. Shortly after 11:00, part of a wooden shed structure collapsed on a private residential property, striking a five-year-old girl. Preliminary findings show that the child was in the yard while her father was carrying out construction and renovation work on a wooden carport adjoining the single-family house. Officials confirmed that the father was sober during the incident.
According to the regional fire service, the incident occurred when a wooden structural beam came loose from the frame and fell onto the child.
During renovation work on a home shed, a wooden beam became loose. The beam fell onto the child moving nearby.
Emergency resuscitation and medical transport
The structural collapse resulted in severe injuries, causing the child to suffer sudden cardiac arrest on the scene. Emergency dispatchers immediately deployed local fire units, two road ambulances, and a helicopter from the Polish Medical Air Rescue (LPR) to the private property. Firefighters and medical personnel initiated cardiopulmonary resuscitation immediately upon their arrival at the scene.
At the time of our arrival, resuscitation of the girl was already underway. Although an LPR helicopter landed at the scene, the child was transported to the hospital by ambulance.
Responders succeeded in restoring the girl's vital functions at the scene before transferring her to medical custody. Despite the presence of the air ambulance helicopter, the medical crew determined that immediate transport by ground ambulance was the most suitable course of action. She arrived at the hospital in critical condition.
- A wooden shed structure collapses on a five-year-old girl during renovation work in Wola Rzędzińska.
- Firefighters, two ambulances, and an LPR medical helicopter arrive as CPR is initiated.
- Responders restore vital functions and transport the child to the hospital by road ambulance.
- Firefighters secure the damaged structure while Tarnów police open an inquiry into the collapse.
Statements from local emergency services
Police and fire department representatives provided details regarding the immediate operational response and the condition of the injured girl. Municipal fire service officials indicated that the collapse involved substantial structural components of the wooden shed.
The five-year-old girl suffered serious injuries and was taken to the hospital.
Tarnów police officials emphasized that the child remained under parental supervision at the moment the wooden carport gave way, and confirmed that tests administered at the site showed no alcohol in the father's system.
Preliminary findings indicate that the child's father was carrying out construction work on the carport. At this point, for unknown reasons, the structure collapsed onto the five-year-old child.
Securing the site and technical investigation
Following the transport of the child to the hospital, fire service personnel remained on the scene to secure the damaged carport. Firefighters dismantled and braced unstable structural elements to ensure the property posed no further danger to residents or emergency crews working in the immediate vicinity.
Officers from the Tarnów Municipal Police Headquarters launched a formal inquiry to establish the sequence of events leading up to the collapse. Investigators have not determined whether material failure, improper fastening, or environmental factors caused the wooden beam to loosen and fall. Police officers are conducting examinations of the building materials and interviewing witnesses to document how the construction was being assembled.
