Hundreds evacuated from Ngee Ann City after pile of trash catches fire
He had just left his restaurant to go to the toilet when he saw a large group of people running towards him and the escalators.
Mr Shamsul Mohamed, 39, then noticed smoke billowing out.
The assistant manager of French restaurant Paul on the third storey of Ngee Ann City told The New Paper yesterday evening: "I panicked... Straight away I came back and evacuated all the customers."
Hundreds of office workers, store employees and shoppers were evacuated from Tower B of the Orchard Road building yesterday after a pile of rubbish in a ventilation shaft caught fire.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it responded at 5.08pm to a fire alarm call and used a hose reel to extinguish the pile of smouldering trash, which had accumulated at the bottom of the ventilation shaft located within a stairwell.
SCDF said Tower B was evacuated as a precautionary measure prior to its arrival.
There were no reported injuries and the cause of fire is under investigation.
When TNP arrived at the scene at about 6.30pm, a large crowd was milling about outside before they were finally let back in at about 6.55pm.
At least six fire engines, two fire bikes and a Red Rhino could be seen parked near the building and along Orchard Turn.
The police were seen helping direct human and vehicular traffic.
Mr Chin Khai Liang, 50, the manager of a clinic on the 14th storey of Tower B, said he was conducting an interview around 5pm when he smelled the choking smoke.
He told TNP: "When we went out, the smoke was so thick. It was getting thicker."
He said the fire alarm went off about five minutes later and that was when he asked his doctors, workers and patients to evacuate.
Mr Shamsul said the restaurant was full at the time, and more than 200 customers and staff members had to leave.
Some of the customers left without paying and Mr Shamsul estimated the fire had cost the restaurant about $2,000.
The SCDF was also alerted to another fire around the same time. This involved a personal mobility device at 11 Marina Boulevard, at Marina Bay Waterfront Promenade, at 5.16pm. A video posted on online forum Reddit showed the device exploding and in flames, with thick smoke coming from it.
SCDF said the fire was extinguished using a dry powder extinguisher and there were no reported injuries.
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