With Covid-19 on the loose, it feels like all other disasters have to wait in line to make an appearance.
We can’t possibly have two calamities at once because that would be too much to handle.
But, as we’ve seen time and time again, the universe is indifferent to our distress.
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80 People Had To Be Evacuated After Punggol Plaza Fire Late Last Night
A mass of people had to be evacuated from Punggol Plaza on Sunday night (6 Sep) after a fire erupted at one of its units.
According to CNA, the Singapore Civil Defence Force said it was alerted to the incident at around 10.10pm.
The fire, which broke out in a unit on the first floor, Â involved the contents of a wooden cupboard containing a prayer altar, SCDF said.
Fortunately, SCDF managed to extinguish the fire using one water jet.
Still, 80 people had to be evacuated from the premises by security officers before the SCDF arrived.
No serious injuries have been reported, though one person was taken to Singapore General Hospital for smoke inhalation.
The cause of the fire is still unclear. Investigations are ongoing.
5 Malls in S’pore Had Such Serious COVID-19 Measures, They’ve Breached Fire Safety Rules
We’re so busy devising ways to combat the coronavirus that some of us have forgotten all about basic safety.
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As one commenter on CNA’s Facebook post pointed out, this is the first fire at a shopping mall during the Covid-19 pandemic.
With malls restricting access in accordance with Covid-19 regulations, would escape routes be affected?
It’s not known what started the fire at Punggol Plaza, but 5 malls across the country were previously found to have breached fire safety rules.
Checks carried out by the SCDF found that these 5 malls had padlocked several exits.Â
These breaches occurred because these malls were so concerned about implementing Covid-19 control measures that were rolled out by the government to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
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Under these rules, all malls and large standalone stores that exceed 930 sqm in gross floor area can hold only one person for every 10 sqm, according to TODAY.
As a result of the occupancy limits, these malls only left some of their entrances on the ground floor open, locking other points of entry and exit.
The 5 malls, which included People’s Park Centre, were either given warnings to remove the fire hazards or fines, or both.
They have since rectified the infringements, reported TODAY.
According to SCDF, buildings must still comply with fire safety requirements even as they implement safe management measures.
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This will ensure that patrons can be evacuated safely and quickly during a fire.
Such requirements include:
- Ensuring restricted entry and exit points have doors that can be automatically unlocked to allow evacuation once fire alarms are triggered
- Ensuring barricades used to prevent access to entrances and exits can be easily removed, with clear notices informing the public that the barricades can be removed in a fire
- Using their public announcement system during a fire to broadcast that all exits can be used for evacuation
Hopefully, the rest of our malls have complied with these requirements. There’s no use in stringent Covid-19 measures if all the malls in Singapore start burning down, is there?
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