Workers clear paper packets from a storeroom after the fire at a Patia mall in Bhubaneswar on Thursday. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Nov. 21: Frequent fire mishaps at various malls and shopping complexes across the city could have been avoided had the Odisha Fire Service Act been properly implemented.

A fire broke out at a shopping mall at Patia in the city this morning close on the heels of a similar mishap in another market place early this month.

No one was injured as the mall was closed when the fire took place.

The incident came to light after a security guard saw smoke billowing out from the storehouse of the mall and informed fire station officials of Chandrasekharpur. One fire tender took 45 minutes to douse the blaze.

“Preliminary investigations revealed that the fire broke due to a short circuit. The mall did not have fire extinguishers,” said officer of Chandrasekharpur fire station Jitendra Kumar Das.

Mall in-charge Arun, however, said the fire did not start with a short circuit. He further said some criminals had broken into the storeroom and tried to set it on fire.

Frequent fire mishaps at shopping malls due to lack of adequate fire-safety measures have raised concerns among the shoppers.

The incident has brought the shopping malls across the city under scanner. This is the second incident of a fire mishap at shopping malls this month. On November 5, a fire had broken out at a shopping mall near Jayadev Vihar, gutting properties worth Rs 1 lakh.

Residents feel that lackadaisical attitude of the Bhubaneswar Development Authority at ensuring fire-fighting measures at various shopping malls under the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (Planning and Building Standards) Regulation-2008 is to be blamed for the accidents.

The regulation states that the shopping malls are required to adopt fire-safety measures, including wet riser, hose reel, automatic sprinkler system and yard hydrants. Similarly, the establishments need to have terrace tanks, fire pimp, auto-detection system, illuminated exit signs, manually operated electrical fire alarm system, hose boxes with delivery hoses and branch. Besides, the establishment needs to have sufficient space for evacuation and operations of fire tenders as well. But, most of the regulations are not being strictly implemented.

A fire official said most of the establishments did not obtain a no-objection certificate from them as the rules of the Odisha Fire Service Act, 1993, were yet to be enforced. “We are helpless as the rules are yet to be framed. Though we know that most of the business establishments flout the norms,” said assistant fire officer of Bhubaneswar, Ramesh Majhi.

The residents also demanded strict enforcement of fire-fighting measures. “No one was injured in both the incidents, but that does not mean that we would throw fire safety norms to wind. The authorities must ensure that our lives are not put in danger due to flouting of norms,” said Patia resident Debendra Routray.

“All such establishments must adhere to the norms laid by the authority. We would inspect the malls of the city to find out any deviations,” said a development authority official.

The Telegraph reports on two previous fire mishaps at market complexes on November 5 and 12