Whom God Keeps, No Fire Can Kill

Centaurus Mall Fire - 09 October 2022

I arrived in Pakistan on behalf of CIArb Pakistan Branch branch to train top litigants as mediators. The training was successful and with a very busy schedule, it was not possible to indulge in shopping or other personal matters. Finally, the day before I was due to fly and with all assessments finished, I ventured for last-minute shopping with the very able assistance of Kashaf Fatima, MCIArb . We went to Centaurus Mall, Islamabad on Sunday 9 October 2022.

It was a brief visit, and we were on our way out from the 2nd floor taking the escalators to the 1st floor. This is where we struggled with pushing and shoving on the escalators. We did not understand and just moved to one side as there was a risk of a stampede. We could hear screams and people rushing and running. With that in mind, and considering our safety we moved away from the escalators to avoid being pushed and just watched people rushing through. We still fit not realised that there was something far worse and bigger happening in the background.?

Naturally, I wanted to walk towards the screaming and shouting (instead of going away) and looked up towards the fourth floor where the most commotion was in the food court. I could see people throwing things to the ground floor and shops were trying to close down. Kashaf asked that we should just get out of there. We saw people just running and screaming and shouting but still, we couldn’t understand or see anything to figure out what was happening.

The thoughts of terrorist attacks came to mind. But we couldn't hear any shots being fired. There were no fire alarms, no fire suppression systems activated and there was no PA announcement. There was absolutely no reason for people to leave the Mall unless they just follow the crowd and run with them. This is one of the biggest shopping malls in Islamabad, a famous one and then when people realised that they had to rush out, there was no crowd control or fire wardens. I wanted to avoid the stampede and rush through the single entry and exit point of the mall.?

Being an engineer, a trained first aid and a fire Marshall, I thought it is best to avoid the stampede and that we must find the fire exit. We found one (a big green door with signs of a fire exit) and after hobbling from floor one to the ground floor, we saw a big metal fire exit door. I tried to open the horizontal latch door and it didn’t move, this is when I realised that it was completely bolted and screwed with metal plates so it can’t be opened either from the inside or the outside.?

After numerous attempts, I had no option but to break the door open. I kicked and kicked and pushed with my shoulder. I don’t know where I found the strength but after 7-8 kicks, I could see the door giving way, after a few more attempts it was enough to push it open and both of us could squeeze through the opening.

As soon as we came out, it was an incredible scene with everyone looking at us and the floors above. We looked up as well and for the first time realised that this was a fire. We saw a smoke cloud and our first instinct was to get away from the building as quickly and as far as possible. The tragedy of Grenfell Tower came to mind and we started praying for the people in the Mall and the residential apartment block above. Kashaf kept asking, how can we help the people in the Mall and at that time I had no real answer for her except, to be honest, and say, let’s save us first and let the authorities deal with it. We could hear a fire engine from afar and that gave us some relief.?It was later announced that there were no fatalities (really lucky) and that the fire services managed to contain the fire from spreading across the whole tower block. Reference https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-63191723

I have personally thanked Kashaf, that her being there made me act in a more composed manner (not saying that she wasn't composed). We were all lucky to be alive, we made a few videos from afar and from the car while driving away, shaken and with not much voice left, we thanked Allah for giving us this precious life and a near-death experience reminded me that our stay in this world is very limited. We need to make sure that our limited stay counts for something far greater than ourselves, I have personally apologised to many people and this is my public apology after the event that if I have hurt anyone, please forgive me.?

The next steps in my life need to be meaningful and must count towards the betterment of our society as a whole. I pray that we all gather the strength to work towards cognitive & esteem needs and self-actualisation (as per Maslow).?

Regards,

Nasir Khan MBE