Shoppers evacuated after escalator catches fire at Chinatown Point

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Stomper Ryan alerted Stomp to a fire that broke out at Chinatown Point along New Bridge Road today (Mar 5) at around 3pm.

In a telephone interview and Facebook message, he said he saw black and white smoke coming out of an escalator on the third floor of the mall.

Photos he sent show shoppers waiting at the ground floor of Chinatown point as well as SCDF personnel attending to the incident. 

Said the Stomper:

"I was just sitting in front of the escalator at the tour agency to take a look at the packages and the escalator started to have white smoke coming out from it.

"It turned into thick black smoke with a very pungent burning odour."

Netizen John Ho who was also at the shopping centre posted a video of the scene on his Facebook page. 

In the video, smoke can be seen inside the mall.

Many shoppers were taking the escalator down, possibly to evacuate the building.

He also reported seeing the mall's security personnel helping to evacuate shoppers inside the mall.

In a photo the netizen also posted, four SCDF vehicles can be seen outside Chinatown Point.

Both the netizen and the Stomper said that the fire alarm did not go off.

Said an SCDF spokesperson with regard to what happened:

"SCDF was activated to a fire at Chinatown Point at about 3pm.

"SCDF dispatched two Fire Engines, two Red Rhinos and two Support Vehicles.

"A fire in the electrical wiring on an escalator landing at level three was extinguished by SCDF using a water jet.

"There were no reported injuries."