SINGAPORE – About 30 people were evacuated from a mall in Clementi on Sunday (April 9) afternoon after a car caught fire in the carpark.
The fire occurred at about 1.15pm at the entrance of the carpark at The Clementi Mall, Lianhe Wanbao reported on Monday (April 10).
The vehicle caught fire suddenly as it was entering the carpark at the basement, and the driver escaped just in time, Wanbao said.
Smoke from the fire activated the fire alarms and building security evacuated the customers and stallholders in the mall.
A food stall vendor in her 40s, who gave her name as Madam Zhang, told Wanbao: “I first heard the fire alarm. Then, security came to tell us that there was a fire, and told us not to panic and walk to the first floor.
“Later, when I reached the escalator, I smelled smoke and saw black smoke coming out of the carpark.”
An employee at a pet store who gave his name as Mr Weijie, 26, said that he had initially thought it was a fire drill.
“After that, a regular customer told me that a car was on fire at the entrance, and I realised it was real,” he said.
The fire involved the engine compartment of the vehicle, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) told The Straits Times.
SCDF was alerted at 1.15pm and dispatched two fire engines, two Red Rhinos and two support vehicles.
It extinguished the fire using fire extinguishers, a compressed air foam backpack and an internal hose reel.
Approximately 30 people were evacuated by building security, SCDF said.
There were no reported injuries, and the cause of the fire is being investigated.
This article was first published on Apr 11, 2017.
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