Huge fire broke out at Mid Valley JB mall, but people started recording instead of running away [Videos]

In these hazy conditions, the mall is one of the few places we can seek respite from the noxious smog.

However, it seemed like the smog made its way indoors when a HUGE fire broke out at Mid Valley Southkey mall in Johor Bahru yesterday afternoon (18^th September).

Through numerous videos that were shared across social media, it could be seen that the fire broke out at a furniture display and the flames were lashing upwards as high as the 2nd floor.

Clouds of black smoke could also be seen engulfing the area while the fire alarm’s shrill tone rang out loud.

The scene was clearly one of danger. Unfortunately, these circulating videos all showed one rather depressing thing: people recording the incident instead of running away.

In several of these videos, people were seen walking towardsthe fire instead of escaping the threat to safety.

Chilling next to the fire…

I dont know who's vid is this but I got the vid from family's ws group

Midvalley, johor is on fire pic.twitter.com/tn8BCAG09i

— 나나 'ㅅ' 큥 🐶 (@qritqorgus) September 18, 2019

“Fuyooo”

Promotion area Mid Valley Southkey JB terbakar guys🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/I5dK1m8leh

— Mufasa 🦁 (@Shxhrlkamal) September 18, 2019

Another footage. Ramai cakap kerusi urut. Bukan bukan, tilam. tilam yang terbakar. pic.twitter.com/bJU9yxvlF5

— Ary Maslan (@arymaslan) September 18, 2019

Getting a front-seat view of the action

Midvalley southkey Jb terbakar and that’s the tweet. pic.twitter.com/mVa4J6E0Xy

— Ary Maslan (@arymaslan) September 18, 2019

Semoga dipermudahkan🤲🏻 pic.twitter.com/7OpHCWuwPv

— Mufasa 🦁 (@Shxhrlkamal) September 18, 2019

The proximity of the recorders to the fire did not go unnoticed on the internet.

Orang risau benda terbakar, but that uncle went 'fuyoo'😂🤣

— Skincare Sl*t (@ajidddddd) September 18, 2019

Orang Johor memang tak takut mati ke? Semua tak nak lari 😔🤘🏻

— TrasH (@RussRaz) September 18, 2019

Translation: “Are Johoreans not afraid to die? Nobody wanted to run”

idk why ppl were so chilled. kalo aku dah lama lari keluar dari mall tu. 🤦

— i 🍑 you will all my butt (@kinkycokelat) September 18, 2019

Translation: “I don’t know why people were so chill. If it was me, I would’ve ran out of the mall a lot sooner.”

Nyawa tukang rekod ni ada 9 agaknya. Paling hampir dgn api.. mujur takde meletop apa2, kalau tak habis la bukti pembakaran tu 🥴

— maryam (@jfdaughter) September 18, 2019

Translation: “The person who took the video must have 9 lives. So close to the fire… Luckily there was no explosion. Otherwise, your proof of a fire will be all gone.”

They were lucky, though, as the blaze was successfully put out by the building’s management. The mall’s management also later updated on Facebook that there were no casualties or injuries.

Meanwhile, the Johor Fire and Rescue Brigade states that source of the fire remains undetermined, but investigations are underway.

In the event of a fire, Bomba Malaysia advices one to evacuate immediately to a safe open area. If there is thick smoke, you should crawl on the floor to prevent choking.

This incident also harkens back to the time when a Malaysian recorded a preventable highway accident instead of honking the sleeping driver awake. You can read about it HERE.