How a false fire alarm led to crowd turbulence

On 18th April, my family and I went to the Lucky one mall in Karachi. We were shopping peacefully When suddenly, a crowd from the upper floor burst through the escalator and rushed towards the mall’s exit areas. The dissemination of the information that the fire had begun on the higher floor and the sounding of the fire alarm resulted in a chaotic situation. They were escaping the fire even if nobody knew about it or had seen it. Some women even lost their small children in the throng, and others were so terrified that they screamed and sobbed.

After we safely exited the building and the chaos subsided a little, we learned that the fire alarm sensors may have been activated by a cylinder that burst or by the excessive flame from some of the food court’s stoves. What could have gone wrong more seriously after this entire incident? The folks who were there when the incident occurred in the food court had the option of handling it coolly rather than responding in that way and endangering the lives of others. These kinds of incidents frequently occur around us; there are several documented instances of crowd conduct contributing to undesirable outcomes.

In order to prevent safety hazards, our system must have public safety protocols in place. Large organizations must have the appropriate people and procedures in place to direct, communicate, and clear areas in such circumstances. Lack of clear directions causes enormous losses during times of mass panic. Additionally, there is a need for mass panic awareness programmes that teach people how to react cautiously and carefully.