It was very well handled

What was the situation at Forum during the fire? Savie Karnel spoke to one of the shoppers who was there at the time of the incident

Valerine Sebastian, a media professional who was at Forum during the fire, told this reporter of the calm situation at mall.

"I was buying DVDs at Landmark when I saw smoke outside the store. By then, the mall's security staff had come into the store and asked us to leave. When I came out, Transit was already evacuated.

"None of us at the mall were aware of the fire. The staff didn't tell us about it. They just asked us to leave and to co-operate. I think they didn't want to cause panic.

"No one was panicking or rushing and that was a good thing too. It could have caused a stampede.

"The escalators were switched off and we were asked to use the stairs. Some people used parking stairways too. Once we were out, the staff asked us to leave the campus.

"We were all out in five minutes. The mall staff was already trying to put out the fire. The fire brigade reached in ten minutes and doused the fire.

"The staff and fire brigade did a great job in preventing casualties. They handled the situation very well."

Forum open to public

Forum opened yesterday except for Transit, the food court.

"All stores including the 11 screens of PVR cinema were open by 10 am. Only Transit was sealed. We are in no hurry to open the food court now. Safety is of priority to us and we do not want to give a specific opening date," Ali said.