Around 50 people were evacuated from Logix Mall in Noida’s Sector 32 on Friday morning after a fire broke out in one of the shops located in the mall, Gautam Budh Nagar fire department officers said, adding that 10 fire tenders were used to control the blaze. No one was injured in the fire, they said
Senior officers suspect that a short circuit might have triggered the fire that was controlled after one-and-a-half hours of firefighting.
The mall has a total of five floors, including lower ground floor, apart from two-floor basement parking. The mall has 174 outlets, including food and beverage shops, retail shops, gaming zones, restaurants, bars as well as a 15-screen movie theatre.
According to Pradeep Kumar Chaubey, chief fire officer (CFO), Gautam Budh Nagar, the fire broke out at 11am when the mall was relatively empty, with only security personnel and mall staff being present on the premises. By the time firefighters reached the spot, the mall’s security personnel and management staff had removed everyone from the building.
“The local fire department was alerted by the firefighting alarm system of the mall and firefighters and fire tenders were rushed to the spot. The fire started in the Adidas showroom on the first floor of the mall,” Chaubey said.
Since it was relatively early morning hours and all showrooms had not yet opened, the shutters of the Adidas showroom was also down. Firefighters had to use saw cutters to cut open the shutter and entered the showroom to douse the flames, the CFO said.
“As soon as the fire broke out and smoke started billowing out of the shop, the mall’s firefighting alarm system kicked in and alerted the people present in the building to safely move out of the building. Accordingly, at least 50 people were removed from the building,” said Chaubey, adding that nearly 30 of them were evacuated by the fire brigade.
Senior police officers, including Noida’s deputy commissioner of police (DCP), and additional DCP also reached the spot, along with teams from the Sector 24 police station.
“Support was provided to the fire department by local police officers,” said Rambadan Singh, DCP, Noida.
The fire was completely doused by 12.30pm, said Chaubey.
“However, the smoke from the fire had filled the building. While ventilation windows on the top were opened, the wind direction continued to push the smoke further inside the mall which posed a challenge to firefighters. Glass panes of the mall were finally broken to let the smoke out. It was only after 3pm that the building was cleared of smoke,” he said.
“The cause of the fire is under investigation, though it is suspected to have been caused by a short circuit. No complaint has been received in the matter so far. The total damage caused by the fire is yet to be ascertained,” said the officer.
The mall remained closed for operations throughout Friday, a mall management official said, asking not to be named.
Last year on July 13, five people were injured after a fire broke out on the third floor of Galaxy Plaza located in Sector 4 of Greater Noida West.
From January to May this year, a total of 1,210 fires were reported in the district, with 121 cases in January, 136 in February, 182 in March, 366 in April, and 405 in May, data from the fire department showed. Data for the month of June is yet to be compiled, said officials.
