Six Flags Mall, deep in the red, stays in the dark

Aug 29, 2008 (Fort Worth Star-Telegram - McClatchy-Tribune News Service via COMTEX) -- SIX | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- Aug. 29--The Fire Department is escorting tenants back into the darkened Six Flags Mall to retrieve their belongings after shutting the mall down for fire-code violations.

The main part of the mall has been deemed unfit for business because the fire-safety equipment won't work with the power off, an Arlington fire official said.

It's not clear whether the power, which was turned off Monday, will be turned on before a foreclosure auction scheduled for Tuesday.

A representative for First Choice Power, the mall's latest electricity provider, declined to comment about the mall's account. But Reliant Energy filed suit Aug. 20 to try to collect $1.3 million in delinquent electric bills owed by several malls owned by the same company, including Six Flags Mall, through April. Six Flags Mall's portion is $349,226, according to the suit.

Suez Energy previously sued the mall, at Texas 360 and Division Street, in February 2007 for nearly $390,000 in unpaid electric bills.

Attempts to contact the mall management were unsuccessful. The mall's phone number was busy and a number given on the doors was for tenants to schedule an escort to go inside the mall.

What's happening

Mall workers, such as Scott Osmar, who works for a marketing research company, showed up Thursday in the vain hope that the lights would be turned back on.

The doors to the mall were closed, with no way to enter the main hallways. The skylights were the only source of light.

At least one of Six Flags' sister malls, Sunrise Mall in Corpus Christi, has also been without power this week, the Corpus Christi Caller-Times reported. Both malls are owned by Tom Morris.

The Fire Department began evacuating people from the mall Wednesday, said Keith Ebel, deputy fire marshal. With the power off, the alarms would not sound, strobes would not flash and any fire would not be reported to the monitoring company, he said.

The Fire Department has not been in communication with the mall's management, Ebel said. But closing the mall and evacuating it under these circumstances does not require management's assent.

"That's the fire code," he said.

Pets that were in a shop inside the mall were taken to an animal shelter, Ebel said.

Keeping the lights on

Mall anchors such as Everest College, Dillard's and Cinemark appear to be operating without interruption.

Tenants such as Michelle Gutierrez, who operates a clothing store, have long been frustrated with the mall's operations. She is particularly incensed with the sporadic delivery of electric bills that she believes were often too expensive.

She was on her way to Home Depot on Thursday to buy lighting supplies so that she could see well enough to pack her store up and leave.

"It's a nightmare," she said. "They're messing with people's lives."

News researcher Stacy Garcia contributed to this report.

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