A major accident was averted in Abirami Mega Mall on Monday morning, after a suspected electrical short circuit near an eatery led to a fire. Over 40 firemen battled the blaze and put it out within 30 minutes. No one was injured in the incident.
Sources with the Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services (TNFRS) said the fire in the second floor of the building was reported at around 6.50 a.m. on Monday, and tenders from the Kilpauk, Vepery and Egmore fire stations were rushed to the spot .
“Around 6.15 a.m., when a security guard on duty tried to turn on the main switch outside the Swarna Sakthi Abirami cinema hall on the second floor, smoke started to emerge from the electrical unit. Before he could get a technical to the spot, a fire started,” an employee said.
The firemen, who reached the spot, used gas masks to enter the floor. They pressed the tenders into action with support from Metro Water lorries and put out the fire . A skylift was also brought to the spot in case of a rescue effort.
The false ceiling, wooden decors, doors and other items in the eatery outside the cinema hall were partially charred. No one was injured in the fire as the few employees who had reported for work escaped from the building in time. If the fire had broken out during the later part of the day, it could have been devastating, fire department sources said.
The Hindu Divisional Fire Officer (North) D.N. Velayuthan Nair, in-charge of operations for the day, said that the eatery where the fire started did not have a sprinkler installed. .“The mall seems to have the necessary fire safety apparatus and signage. However, a police enquiry would ascertain all that and also the cause of fire,” Mr. Nair said.
The building, on Purasawalkam High Road, houses a mall with shops and food courts and three cinema halls. Over 5,000 persons come to the mall daily.
Keywords: Abirami complex fire, Chennai fire
The fire in Abirami Mall exposes yet again the need to re-look at the
availability of fire safety systems at places where there will be large
movement of people. Regular fire audit must also be done. Places like T
Nagar, where everything is done with utter disregard to the rules and
regulations, disasters are awaiting to happen. Unless the authorities
take immediate steps, there could be incidents of disasters. Prevention
is better than cure.
A word of advice for the authorities. Can you make it mandatory for each of the major complexes (theatre / mall / etc) to file a mandatory notice (perhaps even an ad) that tells the public what measures they have in place to deal with fire? For the general public, there is no way of knowing whether any of these places really has any fire-safety measures in place.
I would rather stay away from these complexes - Abirami, Sathyam, Express Avenue, Spencer Plaza, Citi Center, Ampa Mall, etc.
This is pure luck, that the incident happened when there were very few people around. A couple of issues though. We always think of a fire as something that will happen to someone else. Wrong. Fire does not discriminate - it could attack you any day, any time - so be prepared. Secondly, it can happen at home, not just at a shopping complex or theatre. So while we shout about lack of fire-safety in these complexes, are we bothered enough to buy a good-quality fire extinguisher and keep it at hand for home emergencies?
Finally, water-sprinklers must work no doubt, but what about human intervention. I would question the guard (and/or the management for not training him in the procedure) who could have easily nipped the matter in the bud by using the fire-extinguisher himself instead of waiting for the technician or fire-brigade to douse the fire. (Assuming of course that the complex had an electrical-fire extinguisher in place handy at that time).
Indeed sorry to note the fire in Abhirami complex. Thank God there was no human
casualties. However the picture shows how callous we are with respect to safety. The fireman dousing the fire has NO HELMET,No Safety Boot, no Coverall, no high visibility vests, no safety googles. While the fire in the first place has not caused any injuries/ casualty,fighting the fire could have easily caused avoidable injuries/ fatalities. Safety is a culture. We must incorporate that sense in one and all. Then such incidents,usually blamed on "Short Circuit' can be avoided.The fire department must themselves should set an example . Also it should be mandatory in spaces like theaters, malls to flash out exit routes/ do's and dont's in case of emergencies. This could subconsciously alert the people on safety. Regular Maintenance and record that such maintenance have been carried out should be mandatory before the insurance companies dole out the claims.
Mega Complexes servicing us are really traps! Please do send this news article along with the images from the photo gallery to all, family, and friends. Prevent disasters from happening!
Although I love Abirami megamall, I think that its too small of a place
to entertain a crowd of 5000 people in the busy area of Purasaiwalkam. I
really think that the fire department should investigate this incident
and come up with additional safety precaution measures to ensure safety
of the general public. Thank it happened during night time when there
were no customers, if it happened in the evening it would have been
chaotic!
It is truly a miracle that this fire incident happened when there was no one at this place. This place is filled with shops, kid’s play places, and count in the movie halls and with all this the doors are not there to the proportion to the crowds that this place pulls in. I’m really not sure how the city has permitted this super structure with no proper exit strategies if such an ugly episode were ever to happen when the place is in full business!
This was waiting to happen. Places like these, doesn't follow even the basic safety standards. Hardly people could walk freely inside the mall, as the walkways and all places around it is occupied by eateries and small vendors. Good, it has not taken place in the later part of the day. It would have been Uphaar tragedy in Chennai. It is high time, that the concerned authorities wake up.
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