SINGAPORE: A fire broke out at Carlton Hotel in Bras Basah on Thursday afternoon (Feb 14), with power outages reported in the area.
Witnesses reported hearing “explosions” from the hotel and smoke emitting from one of its back doors.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it responded to a fire at 76 Bras Basah Road, which is the hotel’s address, at 1.15pm.
“The fire, which was contained within a switch room, was extinguished by SCDF using fire extinguishers,” SCDF said.
About 1,000 people were evacuated from the building and there were no reported injuries.
The cause of the fire is being investigated, it said.
Safety workers from SP Group gathered at the back of Carlton Hotel on Feb 14, 2019. (Photo: Jeremy Long)
A spokesman for the Carlton Hotel added that those evacuated from the building included hotel guests and visitors. The hotel also said that a back-up generator would be set up.
Photos on social media show SCDF vehicles around the hotel.
The scene outside Carlton Hotel at Bras Basah on Feb 14, 2019. (Photo: Facebook/何少東)
Facebook user Ricardo Sentosa posted a video on the social media site showing smoke and a blackened door at the hotel.
He said a “small explosion” was heard around 1.20pm, which was shortly followed by a second explosion.
An eyewitness working at Odeon Towers, who wanted to be known only as Jason, said white smoke was seen coming out of a room at the back of the hotel.
“It smelled like burnt rubber and plastic. I didn’t hear the explosion, but we left our office after hearing the alarm go off,” he said.
SP Group officers outside Carlton Hotel. (Photo: Jeremy Long)
Another eyewitness, who gave his name as Mr Lee, was working at a nearby kitchen when he heard an explosion.
“We came out and there was a lot of smoke coming out from a room at the hotel,” he said. “The power was out in our kitchen and it was very hot so we all came out and took a break … we resumed working 30 minutes later. I wasn’t too worried since we are not in the same building.
“It didn’t look bad.”
READ: Power outages at offices, MRT stations in central Singapore
Social media users also reported blackouts in offices and MRT stations around the Bugis area, but it was not clear if these events were related.
Commuters at Chinatown MRT station during the blackout. (Photo: Channel NewsAsia reader)
Mr Ho Shao Dong, who was at Bras Basah Complex, said it appeared that the whole building was hit by a blackout.
SBS Transit said that seven of its MRT stations were affected by power outages but train services were not disrupted.
SP Group vehicles along Victoria Street. (Photo: Jeremy Long)
Electricity supply to some areas in central Singapore was disrupted, SP Group confirmed.
“Our officers were immediately deployed to the affected areas and our priority is to restore supply as safely and quickly as possible,” it said in a Facebook post. “Supply has been restored to most of these locations.”
SP Group said it is investigating the cause of the incident.
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