SINGAPORE – More than 150 pre-school children were evacuated on the morning of March 23 after a fire broke out in Sembawang Shopping Centre.
No injuries were reported.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it was alerted to the fire at 604 Sembawang Road, the mall’s address, at about 9.40am.
The fire involved a deep fryer in a second-floor unit and was extinguished by the sprinkler system before SCDF arrived, it said.
Chinese-language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao reported that the fire had occurred at Wingstop, a fast-food eatery that specialises in fried chicken wings.
“When alerted to a fire incident in Sembawang Shopping Centre, (My First Skool pre-school) staff promptly activated emergency protocols and evacuated more than 150 children to a designated assembly point outside the mall,” said a spokesperson for the pre-school, which is also located on the second floor.
All children and educators present were safe and returned to their classrooms at around 11.30am after clearance was given, the spokesperson told The Straits Times, adding that “parents were informed of the situation in a timely manner”.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, said SCDF.