The ceiling was on fire; thick black smoke was filling the premises, but the kids kept playing... The staff of a mall in Ulyanovsk caused outrage online after deciding against evacuation and extinguishing a small blaze themselves.
On Thursday, a short circuit caused a fire above a children’s play area at the Sozidatel mall in the city of Ulyanovsk on the Volga River.
The fire alarm didn’t go off and the staff opted not to call the professionals, but douse the small blaze themselves.
The video of the incident, posted online by a local website, showed one of the employees climbing a ladder and tackling the flames with a fire extinguisher.
No evacuation was ordered. The kids aren’t seen in the footage, but their voices can be heard in the background.
The parents themselves started picking up their children and fleeing after they realized what was happening, witnesses wrote on social media.
The online commenters had some harsh words to say about the mall staff, with one saying that “all those involved should go on trial.”
“Zimnyaya Vishnya [Winter Cherry Mall] taught them nothing!” another exclaimed, recalling the terrible tragedy that stunned Russia last March. Back then, a massive blaze at a mall in Kemerovo killed 64 people, including 41 children, who were watching cartoons at the cinema.
Also on rt.com 11yo boy survived by jumping out of window of burning mall. His entire family did notThe employees just didn’t want to give refunds for the access to the play area, a VK user said.
They’ve got the money, so who cares about fire and smoke?
“That’s typical fecklessness! And as usual nobody will be held responsible,” another comment read.
However, that may not be the case this time, as the fire services and the prosecutor’s office have already launched probes over the scandalous video.
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