Bhubaneswar: The fire services directorate will serve notices on 10 city shopping malls on Tuesday to comply with fire safety norms within two months.

The directorate on Saturday inspected these malls after a fire broke out at a shopping mall near Damana on January 4.

Fire officials said five of the malls inspected were found to have large-scale violations. "While three of the malls have valid fire safety certificates, the others re operating without those. They will intimate us after complying with the rules within 60 days. We will conduct inspections on our won after the time period. According to the rules, we have the power to seal the malls violating the fire safety norms," said a fire official.

The regulation states that shopping malls need several fire fighting measures, including wet risers, hose reel, automatic sprinkler systems and yard hydrants. Similarly, these establishments need to have terrace tanks, fire pumps, auto-detection systems, illuminated exit signs, manually operated electrical fire alarm systems, hose boxes with delivery hoses and branch. Besides, the establishment also need to have sufficient space for evacuation and operations of fire tenders.

The directorate swung in to action after finding that the Damana mall operated without a certificate. "In future, we will inspect all malls here and those must adhere to fire safety norms to ensure the safety of visitors," said the official.

In November 2013, a fire on the ground floor of a Jayadev Vihar shopping mall sparked panic among the 2,000 visitors present. However, no one was injured in the incident.

The Odisha Fire Safety and Fire Prevention Rules came into force in October that make it mandatory for hospitals, nursing homes, cinema halls and malls to adhere to fire safety norms.