2 Cinemas Ordered to Overhaul Ceilings
The Coca-Cola Plaza in Tallinn and the Cinamon in Tartu have been ordered to rebuild their ceilings after inspections by the Technical Surveillance Authority found them lacking.
The inspections were prompted by an incident in October of 2009, when a separate cinema in the newly-opened Solaris Center in Tallinn suffered the collapse of part of its suspended ceiling. Nobody was injured in the collapse, but a subsequent inquiry revealed several construction violations.
Violations also found in these two cinemas means that the acoustic ceilings in all of their halls will have to be rebuilt in the coming months, the authority said.
"The essence of the directives was that they have to carry out a redesign and re-installation of the suspended ceilings in the cinemas, as well as take all necessary measures to ensure the safety of all ceilings that don't meet the requirements," Anu Võlma, a spokeswoman for the autority, told uudised.err.ee.
Võlma said that the cinemas' owners have made various changes that rendered the ceilings safe for the time being.
In early January, 36 people barely escaped serious injury when the suspended ceiling in a cinema in New South Wales, Australia, collapsed during heavy rains.
Steve Roman