It is important to take the necessary fire safety precautions in public buildings this festive season.

IT was the first day of a weeklong school holiday – a perfect day for a family outing at the shopping mall. And with a cinema, petting zoo and play centre, this particular mall is popular with families. Parents would leave their children at the play area on the top floor while they relax nearby at the bar, play pool, work out or go bowling on the floor below.

But one fateful afternoon, their fun was cut short when a fire broke out in the children’s trampoline room. Within a few minutes, the fire had spread throughout the mall. At least 64 people were killed, mostly children.