City Center Mall evacuated after small fire (updated)

With reporting from Peter Kovessy

Updated on Wednesday, Oct. 22 to reflect actual cause of fire

Dozens of shoppers and staff at City Center Mall were evacuated this morning after a small fire erupted on the third floor.

In a statement sent to Doha News, mall management said the fire originated from children’s play area Fun City, around 9:45am. Originally, officials suspected the cause was a fault in an electrical cable.

But on Wednesday, management said in a statement that the fire was actually caused by human error:

“A more detailed investigation by Civil Defence has shown that the cause of the fire was a cigarette smoked by an employee of one of City Center’s tenants. The cigarette was not extinguished properly. Smoking inside the mall is forbidden.”

There were no injuries.

One employee said he was working near Fun City when he heard the fire alarm go off. Security asked people inside the mall to leave, and first responders were on site to assess what happened, he added.

Several shops on the third floor of the mall – including the food court adjacent to Fun City, but not the food court near the cinema – will remain closed for now during a safety check, management said.

A security guard on-site told Doha News that the shops were expected to clear Civil Defense approval sometime after 2pm.

On Twitter, residents who were inside the mall reported smelling something burning.

One woman who was attending a yoga class at the mall’s gym said:

Were you at City Center? Thoughts?

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