Security Drill at Mall of the North

Mall of the North had their yearly security drill recently to prepare tenants and staff as well as shop employees and shoppers for an emergency.
According to Sumari de Ridder, General Manager at Mall of the North, these drills are important to make sure all employees know how to vacate the premises and to assure they arrive at the correct assembly point.
“Mall of the North has four assembly points, one at each entrance of the mall,” she stated. She further explained that the designated person in charge at each of these assembly points tick the names of the businesses off and make sure that the manager of the specific business make sure that all his or her employees are there.
According to Jurgens Nel, Head of Security at Mall of the North excercises like these are important to check the readiness of all employees in case of emergencies. Nel said that the safety of the shoppers is of paramount importance and the evacuation is strictly monitored by Urban Africa Security to make sure no one gets hurt.
“In an emergency where the parking area must be evacuated the employees still need to assemble at the evacuation points where they will be safely channelled out of the parking area,” Nel stated.
“With the Festive Season commencing, the knowledge of personnel, security and mall employees need to be tested to make sure they know what to do in an emergency,” he stated.
The drill commenced at 09:15 with an alarm that went off followed by a voice asking employees and shoppers to evacuate the mall in a calm and orderly fashion.
De Ridder stated that this drill was organised early in the morning to ensure as little disruption to the shoppers as possible. “Our clients are very important to us, and the drill is to ensure that they can shop at Mall of the North knowing their safety is our priority,” she said.

Story and photo: Alet-Elize van Jaarsveld
>>alet-elize@observer.co.za

Featured photo: Employees, shoppers and Mall of the North staff vacate the premises for Mall of the North’s yearly security drill.