BHUBANESWAR: A major tragedy was averted at
Keshari
mall in the city as a fire broke out at one of the shops due to a suspected short circuit on Sunday.
While no injury or loss of life was reported, the fire sparked panic among a large number of Sunday shoppers.
This is the second fire accident, though non-fatal, in the Keshari mall in the last two months.
A few shops, including four apparel stores, were gutted in a fire at the mall on the night of April 15.
Sunday’s fire was reported from an electric panel board of a shop on the second floor and soon smoke engulfed the entire building.
Visitors ran helter-skelter in panic while the mall authorities used fire extinguishers to douse the flame. Shoppers reportedly felt suffocated when thick smoke spread across the building.
“Timely intervention by the mall authorities helped prevent a major fire. When we reached the spot, the fire was already doused. The tragedy was averted because of the mall’s foolproof firefighting mechanism,” a senior fire service officer said.
Bhubaneswar mayor
Sulochana Das
, who rushed to the mall to take stock of the situation, said it was a minor fire.
“There was a small spark in an electric panel board. The smoke, which engulfed the mall, emanated from the fire extinguishers,” the mayor told media persons.
Das, however, said an inquiry will be conducted by authorities concerned to ascertain the exact cause of the fire so that such incidents can be prevented in future.
“Safety of shoppers is our main priority. To ensure that such mishaps do not recur, we will take adequate preventive measures,” she added.
It must be noted that the directorate general of fire services recently started a drive to inspect fire safety measures in shopping malls,
hotels
, hospitals and other multi-storey commercial establishments across the city.
Director general of fire services,
Santosh Upadhyay, has asked his officers to regularly inspect the compliance of fire safety rules and initiate stringent legal action against the violators.
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