Fire Situation at Capital Cinema on the 10th Floor of Joy City Yesterday
Lighting Box Smoking, Evacuation of 500 People
This morning, it was learned that the cinema will continue to be closed for renovation.
Report by Beijing News (Reporter Huang Jing) At 2:30 PM yesterday, a fire situation occurred at the Capital Cinema on the 10th floor of Joy City in Xidan. A lighting box in an emergency lighting cabinet in the cinema hall caught fire and smoked, causing all the audience in the cinema and other customers on that floor to evacuate, exceeding 500 people. Due to the small scale of the fire, there were no casualties, and affected moviegoers were promised double compensation for their losses.
Yesterday being the weekend, both the mall and the cinema had large numbers of visitors. Around 2:30 PM, viewers watching "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 1)" in one of the screening halls suddenly heard an "off-screen voice": "An emergency has occurred now, please evacuate!" Everyone paused for a few seconds before rushing towards the exit. According to one viewer, the lights inside the hall never turned on, and the movie continued playing throughout. In other halls, some viewers reported that after receiving the notice, the evacuation indicator lights came on, and the evacuation was orderly. Since the elevators had been shut down, everyone evacuated via the stairs, passing through the ticketing hall where many smelled a burnt odor. This was when the audience realized that a fire had occurred.
Cinema staff and security personnel from Joy City respectively guided the customers out of the 10th floor, confirming that a fire had indeed happened. According to a responsible person from the cinema, the fire originated from a distribution cabinet in the cinema hall, where the emergency lighting box malfunctioned and caught fire, emitting smoke. Staff within the mall simultaneously evacuated customers while attempting to extinguish the fire themselves. Soon after, the Fuyou Street Fire Station arrived at the scene.
Affected by this sudden incident, not only were all the customers on the 10th floor evacuated, but many on other floors, hearing about the fire, also rushed out. A restaurant located on the 8th floor momentarily lost all its diners, leaving behind full tables of dishes. Once the situation stabilized, everyone returned to their meals.
At around 4 PM yesterday, the floors above the 9th at Joy City had been sealed off by security and warning lines, prohibiting access, while the floors below the 8th continued normal business operations. The Capital Cinema was entirely closed, with some viewers holding tickets demanding explanations from the staff. In response, a staff member responsible for front desk ticket refunds stated that those who had purchased tickets but did not get to watch the movies could receive double the value of their tickets or a cash refund.
This morning, on the official website of the Capital Cinema, the schedule for December 12th had been cleared, and the booking phone remained unanswered. The main service desk of Joy City Xidan informed us that the mall would operate normally, while the Capital Cinema would remain closed for continuous renovations. As for the specific reopening time, department heads are still in meetings discussing the matter.