Fire in empty cinema hall in Ghaziabad; no one hurt

A fire broke out in an empty cinema hall at Pacific Mall in Ghaziabad, with officials attributing the cause to a possible short circuit and no casualties reported.

A fire broke out inside an empty cinema hall in the Pacific Mall in Ghaziabad on Thursday morning, officials said, adding that no casualties were reported in the incident.

Preliminary inquiry suggests that a short circuit may have triggered the blaze, they said.

According to officials, the fire started inside the cinema hall located in the Link Road area, triggering chaos among the security staff present there.

Initially, security and mall staff tried to douse the flames on their own, but the fire intensified, and smoke spread rapidly, following which the fire brigade was informed.

Several fire tenders were rushed to the spot and launched a firefighting operation. Due to heavy smoke inside the mall premises, security personnel stopped entry into the building and evacuated visitors as a precautionary measure to avoid any untoward incident.

Police personnel from Link Road and Kaushambi police stations also reached the spot after receiving information about the incident. Additional fire tenders from nearby fire stations were also pressed into service, considering the seriousness of the blaze.

Firefighters managed to bring the fire under control after nearly 40 minutes of efforts, the officials said.

No injuries or casualties were reported in the incident.

Chief Fire Officer Rahul Pal said the exact cause of the fire is being investigated.