Shoppers flee after fire erupts at mall restaurant
SHOPPERS fled in panic after a fire broke out at a restaurant in the middle of Central World shopping center at 11 am this morning with an out of order exhaust hood sparking the blaze, Thai News Agency said.
The blaze was at the kitchen of Hua Seng Hong restaurant on the sixth floor of the Zen side of the huge mall and those in charge rushed to evacuate people in that area.
It was Central World’s firemen who put out the fire in 20 minutes by spraying foam after which they got the smoke out of the building.
Metropolitan Police chief Lt-General Sanit Mahathavorn went in to check the fire and found that the damage was at the rear of the restaurant’s kitchen with a three- or four-head stove destroyed and some oil dripping from the ceiling.
The manager said that the fire erupted after a permanent cook was stir-frying and this requires a lot of oil and while doing so a fire suddenly rose to the exhaust hood and spread to the ceiling.
Lt-General Sanit said an investigation showed that the exhaust hood was not working and there was a lot of oil within it and that is why when cooking started a blaze suddenly erupted and it was the oil residue within the exhaust hood which was the kindle.
Police are initially questioning the cook and restaurant workers because this falls within the category of negligence leading to a fire.
Central World is open as usual after this fire was put out but the restaurant has been blocked out so that the owners could make improvements with Lt-General Sanit saying the restaurant could very well open tomorrow because except for the stove there was not much damage.
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Top: The fire-hit restaurant at Central World shopping center. Photo: Thai News Agency
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