Fire Alarm Sounds at Kyiv Cinema; Visitor Describes Evacuation Problems: Film Not Stopped, Staff Did Not Lead People Out

Cinema staff opened the second exit door only after a visitor complained.

On December 21, on Saturday, around 23:00, a fire alarm went off at the Kinoman cinema in Kyiv, which is located in the Kosmopolit shopping centre.

This was reported by journalist Ekaterina Peshko on her Facebook page.

The journalist was in the hall as a visitor and noticed problems with evacuating visitors.

As Peshko told TK Media in a comment, the fire alarm sounded while she was at the evening screening of Knives Out, which began at 21:05.

According to the cinema visitor, after the fire alarm was announced over the loudspeaker, the lights in the hall stayed off, the film kept playing on the screen, and none of the cinema staff entered the hall or told visitors they needed to evacuate. Because of this, many viewers thought the fire warning was part of the film being shown. 

Ekaterina Peshko
cinema visitor

"Dear visitors, there has been a fire in the building, calmly go down the stairs to the first floor and exit onto the street." Somewhere, the screening of several films at the Kinoman cinema "ended". But let's start from the beginning. 
When the phrase asking people to leave the building because of a fire was first heard, I put it down to... the film. It was very illogical for it to be there. But the characters of the movie were indeed in a building, the lights in the hall were off, people around were staring at the screen with their mouths open (everything was heading to the climax), and my brain simply refused to accept it as "foreign" information. When the phrase sounded a second and third time, I thought I was imagining it, or that someone had switched on another movie on their phone. When the phrase sounded for the fourth time, I realised it was not a film or a ghost at all, but a real fire in the building (or at least something that gave the alarm system grounds to "think" so). By the fifth time I was already chasing out the "neighbours" on the left, who did not want to leave and did not understand why I was not writing all this off as part of the film (what the hell!).

Throughout this time, according to the cinema visitor, cashiers continued selling tickets for the next screenings and serving customers. The journalist also noted that only one exit was working: the second doors were closed. Only after the visitor approached the cinema staff were the second doors opened. 

Ekaterina Peshko
cinema visitor

While some people were leaving the building, others (from the street) were walking in (casually waving off the warnings) and heading to the ticket counters (come on?). Near the cloakroom inside the building there were a dozen (or even more) children up to about 10 years old. After the fire warning, someone took them to put on their jackets and hats instead of leading them out of the building. Moreover, they were not taken out afterwards either (maybe so they would not have to wait in the cold until everything was sorted out). And none of the staff (or other people) even tried to push people out of there. People gradually came down from the upper floors. None of the "visible" staff (cashiers, administrator, security, etc.) joined the evacuation. They did not take any actions at all. They simply watched from their positions.

As Ekaterina Peshko told TK Media in a comment, the fire could have been minor or quickly contained, since there were no signs of smoke in the building. The young woman waited by the exit for about 20 minutes, and no fire engines arrived. Nevertheless, staff did not take part in evacuating visitors.

Ekaterina Peshko
cinema visitor

It is now clear that the fire was probably either minor or quickly contained, or maybe someone simply smoked in the toilet, and the system worked as it should. However, there are two questions. Why are our people so foolish that they consider buying tickets or putting on a jacket more important than the chance to save their lives? And why does it take a real wake-up call for halls to turn on the lights in such situations, for cashiers to stop giggling and selling tickets, and for at least someone to shout at those who decide to "sit a little longer" and, most importantly, for an additional exit to open, which should open instantly in such situations?

The journalist called on the State Emergency Service of Ukraine to check cinemas for compliance with fire safety rules.

At the Kinoman cinema, in conversation with TK Media, the incident was described as a check of the alarm system during which a technical glitch occurred. "People who heard the administration continued watching the film," the cinema said. 

Updated December 23, at 22:47. On Monday, a day after the news was published, the cinema administration issued a statement in which it called the fire alarm a technical glitch and apologised to viewers for the inconvenience.