Global Courant 2023-05-18 12:10:00
The Mid Valley Megamall, which was closed on Wednesday after a fire in the building, reopened on Thursday.
A 38-year-old mall employee, who spoke to The Straits Times on condition of anonymity, said the mall has resumed normal operations.
He added that a fire drill had been held at the mall just a day before the fire.
“This wasn’t the first time there had been a fire at the mall and ironically there was a fire drill on Tuesday.”
In a Facebook post on Wednesday night, the mall said it had received permission from authorities to resume operations.
“Following a thorough investigation conducted by Tenaga Nasional Berhad and the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Service, we have received clearance from the relevant authorities for the safe reopening of the property,” the post said.
The mall also thanked its customers for their “unwavering cooperation and patience during this challenging period”.
“We would also like to thank all local authorities including the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Service, Tenaga Nasional Berhad and Polis Diraja Malaysia for their prompt action and cooperation during this time,” the mall said in the Facebook post.
On Wednesday, a fire broke out in the main power station of the mall.
It caused temporary traffic jams near the mall and disrupted the mall’s power supply.
According to the Kuala Lumpur Fire and Rescue Service, the fire was under control at 12:07 a.m. and completely extinguished at 12:44 a.m., more than two hours after it broke out.
The fire was believed to have started from overheating oil intended to cool an electrical transformer at the substation, a fire department official told reporters on Wednesday.
Fatta Amin, assistant director of the Kuala Lumpur Fire and Rescue Department, said the oil can withstand temperatures of 137°C, Bernama news agency reported.
“However, it is believed that the substation was extremely hot and suddenly started burning,” he told reporters at the mall, adding that only one of the four substations associated with the building was on fire.
All substations were able to provide power within a 10 km radius of Mid Valley, Mr Fatta said.
