It has been some time since I last went to Long Beach Mall, I am not a mall person, but needs must sometimes. So imagine my surprise when I arrived to find it closed! Not just the shops but the whole building, with the windows covered in paper!

Surely Long Beach Mall had not been closed down- the owners Growth Point are a large company, their bankruptcy would make the news I am sure. There was a security guard milling about so I asked him what was going on.

“The fire department are doing some checks,” was all I got. At the very moment a man came out to put up some police style, crime scene tape so that you couldn’t even get near the doors.

Very suspicious, and obviously not planned or I am sure the whole valley would have known well ahead of time.

So we had to do our shopping at the Sun Valley Mall, which is where we heard a very unusual rumour, the fire department had indeed shut down the mall owing to a lapse in their fire safety [presumably equipment related as opposed to proceedure]. This was later backed up by a store employee. All speculation- I have no official word from the mall, though I am sure that it will follow.

How odd, a little scary (how long has the mall been in this position), disturbing, annoying and heartening. Why heartening? It means that our fire department do their thing without prejudice or favour, and even a company as large as Growth Point cannot get away with things. Around the world there have been many incidents of fires in public buildings that have led to fatal tragedies, nearly all being traced back to some kind of disregard for the safety laws (either bribes or ineptitude are usually involved).

I am sure that someone at Growth Point is in big trouble for this and one feels sorry for the honest business men and women who have businesses in the mall, who I am sure need a closed store like they need a hole in the head (I have first hand experience of what center management can be like, and they are not always on good terms with their tenants.) It is good to see though that the fire department is on the ball, and kudos to them.