Fire dept knocks on mall doors for safety audit
Times of India | 10 September 2026A senior fire department official said the inspections were aimed at assessing the fire safety preparedness of the establishments.
“As part of our fire safety audit, our teams visited South City, Mani Square, Avani Riverside and Patakha Building on Park Street. We inspected the kitchens, checked whether the fire extinguishers and other fire-fighting installations were in working condition, and interacted with the management,” the official said.
At South City, the team started with the inspection of restaurants, followed by the food court where they interacted with visitors to find out if they could spot the emergency exits. The team that spent nearly 6 hours at the mall also visited the multiplex and stores.
Among the suggestions that they offered was to increase the size of the ‘Exit’ signages to make them more prominent. At some of the shops, the team also asked the shopkeepers to keep the stores clutter-free.
Similar checks were conducted at Mani Square and Avani Riverside. “We checked if the smoke detectors and fire alarms were operational and whether there was adequate water pressure in the hydrants,” said an official, adding that the fire safety measures were found to be adequate at the facilities checked on Wednesday.
