At the end of March 2018, Russia was shocked by a terrible tragedy. In the city of Kemerovo, a fire occurred in the shopping center "Winter Cherry". The building burned to the ground, killing sixty people, including forty-one children. This fire became the second largest fire in modern Russian history. So far, the point in this matter has not yet been set, but the incident showed a disregard for both businessmen and departments to human lives.
After what happened in the country, mass inspections began, inspections rushed to many shopping centers in Volgograd. As a result, many institutions were closed - there were revealed numerous violations of fire safety. Let's see in which shopping centers of the hero city is the safest.
Echoes of the Kemerovo tragedy
The state of emergency in Kemerovo shocked many. People began to be afraid to go to shopping centers and movie theaters, bearing the terrible tragedy. The number of visitors to the shopping center in late March - early April decreased markedly. And after the Ministry of Emergencies and the prosecutor's office initiated a series of inspections, it turned out that almost every second shopping center does not comply with fire safety rules. That is, if something happened, the Kemerovo tragedy could happen again in Volgograd, where there are a lot of shopping centers.
Many of them were closed indefinitely until all violations were resolved. Almost all, after some time, began to function again. But the local sports palace and the exhibition complex are still sealed up - being there is simply dangerous. It is worth striking a match, and everything blazes like poplar fluff.
First went
The first closed shopping center in Volgograd was Seven Stars in Traktorozavodsky District. The former Diamond was tested on March 29th. A training evacuation of visitors and staff was carried out, which was quite successful. Otherwise, everything was bad. Three of the four cinema halls of the complex were not equipped with fire alarms. In the fourth, she was, but did not function. The warning system installed in the corridors would have worked in the event of an emergency, but it would have been difficult to hear during the film show due to soundproofing. The fire hydrants of the mall were last checked more than a year ago, although this must be done at least once every six months. Evacuation exits through one were locked and cluttered. In total, more than 70 violations were found and Seven Stars was sealed.
Only after almost a month the doors of the shopping center opened again. The owner tried to appeal the court decision literally right away and even provided papers stating that all the problems were fixed. In fact, this turned out to be a lie printed on sheets. When everything was eliminated, "Seven Stars" again earned.
Chain reaction
Inspectors found violations in every second institution of mass leisure of citizens. By decision of the court, the following were closed in Volgograd:
- shopping centers "KinderMall", "Diamond on Komsomolskaya", "Soviet", "Green Ring";
- Restaurant "Aquarius";
- shopping and office center SVL;
- China Town Market;
- trampoline centers "Sky" and "Gravity";
- Cinemas "Kinomax" and "Cinema Park".
Then they sealed the doors of the largest concert venues - the expocenter and the sports palace.
Identified violations were almost the same everywhere. Shops in the shopping centers of Volgograd suffered enormous losses, some closed or moved into safe rooms.
Safe places
Not all shopping centers in Volgograd worked in violation of fire laws. So, the SEC "Pyramid", which is located near the Central Embankment, continued to operate normally. Everything was in order there - each emergency exit contained keys, the warning system worked correctly, and numerous identification signs indicated the path to evacuation.
The shops of the Voroshilov shopping center in Volgograd also did not experience stress due to a possible closure. However, as are the tenants of KomsoMolla, Aquarelle and one of the oldest, but still safe, Park House shopping centers.
In the "merchant" (Voroshilovsky shopping center) emergency exits are located every 20-30 meters. In "ComsoMall" and "Watercolors" there is an automatic fire extinguishing system and in case of reaching a temperature of 54 degrees, water begins to spray from the ceiling under pressure. In “Europe City Mall” and “Park House” there is nothing of the kind, but in the event of an emergency there are very high chances to get out of there alive - there are emergency exits, the warning system is functioning properly.
Summary
Even after the shopping centers, which were closed to eliminate all malfunctions, were again functioning, the degree of public confidence in them dropped noticeably. For several months the number of visitors was extremely low. At present, the fears of the people have subsided, and everything has returned to normal.
But the closure of the two largest concert venues came back to the attention of organizers of performances by visiting stars - it resulted in a pretty penny for them. Many events were forced to move to other sites or cancel altogether.