The recordings of Shopping Tijuca monitoring system detail how the initial response was given to the fire that occurred in the basement of the shopping center, in the North Zone of Rio de Janeiro, on January 2nd.
The images, to which the CNN Brazil had access, security guards and customers before confirming the death of brigade member Emellyn Silvia Aguiar Menezes, aged 26, and head of security Anderson Aguiar, aged 43. Three other people were injured.
The fire started in a store in the mall, where the emergency button was activated at 6:04 pm, according to the establishment’s statement. Minutes later, around 6:09 p.m., the brigade member appears in the images putting on protective equipment respiratory system in a room on the fourth floor. She goes underground at 6:14 pm, accompanied by a colleague. That day, the team was made up of three firefighters, one of whom was already on site.
Images reveal security chief’s efforts to save victims
In the same interval, the head of security got hosed to the affected area and began fighting the flames, while there were still people circulating in the corridor. In subsequent records, he reappears with other equipment, trying to contain the spread of the fire.
The images also indicate that, in the first minutes, the removal of the public occurred in a punctual manner, with isolated guidance from some security guards. Only about 11 minutes after the alert is triggered is that the evacuation of the basement has intensified, with the gradual closing of stores and the opening of the corridor.
The records are part of the material analyzed by the Civil Police to reconstruct the sequence of events and the actions of the teams during the incident.
Ongoing investigations and opening of the mall
The 19th DP (Tijuca) is investigating the circumstances of the case and, this week, investigators heard three more people. The company partner CM Couto, responsible for the shopping mall brigade, superintendent Adriana Santilhana and brigade members who worked in the first fight against the fire gave testimony.
According to testimony from the supervisor of the store where the fire started, at the time of the incident.
Shopping Tijuca, after the incident, however, even with the resumption of activities, the basement and part of the first floor will remain closed as determined by the Civil Defense.
Regularization of shopping malls in the state
In a note, the CBMERJ (Military Fire Department of the State of Rio de Janeiro) reported that, after the fire, it carried out an internal survey on the regularization of shopping malls across the state. As a preventive measure, technical inspections were carried out in all buildings classified as shopping centers, with the aim of verifying fire and panic safety conditions and compliance with legislation.
According to the corporation, projects must have a Certificate of Approval, which proves compliance with the requirements set out in the security project. THE maintenance of these measures and renewal of the document are the responsibility of the owners, especially in cases of structural or layout changes. CBMERJ reported that the actions are part of the prevention and inspection strategy.
