Fire breaks out at 313@Somerset shopping mall
SINGAPORE: The 313@Somerset shopping mall reopened at 1.30pm on Friday (Dec 16) after it was shuttered following a fire that broke out on the mall's fourth floor on Thursday evening.
The fire involved the contents of a store room inside a shop of the shopping mall, said the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF). It added that it was alerted to the fire at 10.25pm and sent two fire engines, two red rhinos, two fire bikes, an ambulance and five support vehicles to the scene.
In a statement to the media on Friday morning, mall management Lend Lease said testing, clean-up and rectification works are underway. The mall will remain closed while this is ongoing, and further updates will be provided by 2pm, it added.
Staff from clothing retailer Zara told Channel NewsAsia that a fire alarm sounded in the building. Nurizah, 29, an assistant manager at the store, said she and the staff evacuated from the building within five minutes of hearing the fire alarm.
She added that they had thought it was a fire drill until they saw and smelled smoke. It was then that they knew it was real, said Nurizah, adding that staff on all three levels of the store had smelled the smoke.
Shoppers were also seen evacuating the building.
A woman was taken to Singapore General Hospital after she tripped and fell, said SCDF.
SCDF said that the fire had been extinguished by 11.25pm, using one water jet, as well as water sprinklers in the mall that were activated.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
- CNA/xk