If you were near the Takashimaya area yesterday at around 5 pm, you’d hear fire alarms blaring.

In fact, you might even see smoke emitting out of the building.

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Here are 7 facts about the Takashimaya fire that happened just yesterday evening.

1. What Exactly Happened?

At 5.08 pm, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) received a fire alarm call at Tower B of Ngee Ann City.

Before the SCDF arrived on the scene, hundreds of workers and shoppers were evacuated from the tower just in case.

Thankfully, there were no reported injuries and the fire was dealt with safely.

2. It Was Smouldering Trash

A pile of smouldering trash was found in the ventilation shaft of the stairwell. Firefighters had to open up the shaft and use a hose reel to put out the fire.

Investigations into the cause of the fire are still ongoing but when you say smouldering trash and stairwells, well, one possibility came to mind.

You thinking what I’m thinking?

3. The Smoke Looked Like Something Out Of A Drama Series

Here’s what Ngee Ann City had to say about this episode.

“We made the decision to evacuate the building as soon as we were certain that the smoke was not contained. This was to ensure that the safety and well being of all our customers, tenants and staff are protected.”

Workers in the building reported seeing smoke on the third level of the building, and one said that between the second and third level of the building, it was smoke everywhere, “like something out of a drama series”.

4. People Evacuated in an Orderly Manner

There’s a reason why building owners have to hold annual fire drills for their occupants annually, and why anyone who has been through NS would remember the fire drills that they have to go through every time they’re posted to a new unit.

Because it’ll be useful in incidents like these.

According to reports, the fire alarms within the tower activated at around 5.20 pm.

An office worker in the building told reporters that they evacuated via the stairwell. When they were evacuating, they could smell the smoke.

But because of the annual fire drills, they were able to keep calm and evacuate in an orderly manner.

5. People Had Thought It Was A Fire Drill

Now, work in any building long enough and you’ll learn to ignore the fire alarms. Admit it, we all do that from time to time.

After all, if it’s a fire drill, it’ll be announced to the building’s offices beforehand. And if it was an unexpected fire alarm? You’d think that it’s a false alarm.

A worker on the 23rd floor of the building said they heard the fire alarms but thought it was a false alarm.

It was only half an hour later that they evacuated the building.

Another office on the 9th floor also thought it was a false alarm until the receptionist told them to evacuate as she could smell smoke.

The lesson of the day, people: don’t ignore fire alarms. Even if 9 of them are false alarms, you’ll be glad to have survived one real emergency.

(Article continues below) Xing Xing is a 34-year-old Singaporean lady who decides to meet up with an online friend she found in Facebook. But it turns out that he’s not what he seems to be: Prepare boxes of tissue and watch the saddest Singapore Facebook love story here:

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6. The Entire Incident Lasted For One and a Half Hours

The entire building was on lockdown for at least one and a half hours. People were let back into the building at about 7 pm.

The linkway between Takashimaya and Tower B was blocked off by an employee and occupants of tower B were left milling around the front of the building.

Ngee Ann City apologised for the incident and promised that they’ll cooperate with SCDF to ensure that “such incidents are reduced as much as possible.”

7. There Was Another Fire Happening At The Same Time

While the Takashimaya fire was happening, there was another fire happening nearby at the same time.

A video posted by Straits Times showed an e-scooter at Marina Boulevard suddenly bursting into flames.

The SCDF was alerted to the incident at 5.16 pm and managed to extinguish the fire with dry powder fire extinguishers.

Witnesses reported mini-explosions as well, with debris flung almost 10m away.

“But after a while, mini explosions happened one after another. It was like a firecracker.”

Well, the lesson from this?

Fire drills are really useful. I’m so going to tell my boss that we should all really go down when there’s one in our office building #justsaying #nottryingtoskipwork #really

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