Off-duty firefighters put out flames at Woodlands mall foodcourt
Fire at Woodlands mall foodcourt
Having breakfast after a 24-hour shift, the last thing the firefighters thought they would have to do was fight a fire.
But that's what eight off-duty firefighters from Bukit Batok Fire Station did yesterday at the Bagus foodcourt at Causeway Point in Woodlands.
Seeing smoke coming out from one of the stalls, a regular officer and seven full-time national servicemen sprang into action. A stove had caught fire at the foodcourt on level 7 at about 10.30am.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said in a post on its Facebook page yesterday afternoon that the firefighters evacuated shoppers and staff to safety.
They put out the fire with a hose reel and fire extinguisher.
Damage was confined to the kitchen stove and no one was injured.
Mr Jay Ar, 28, manager of amusement centre TimeZone, told The New Paper he saw one of the food stall's kitchen basins in flames.
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"I heard a commotion at the foodcourt next door and when I went closer, all I could see were shadowy figures in the smoke-filled kitchen," he said.
Mr Jay, who has been working in the mall for three years, added: "Then I could not see anything at all in the kitchen. It was completely filled with smoke.
"I was shocked. On my way back to my store, I saw smoke curtains activated. The arcade machines had also become very warm."
Ms Dewi Mas Herna, 20, a promoter at SD Perfume, also said she smelled something burning when she was at the first level of the mall.
"I was on my way to open the store on the sixth level when the security guard told me the prata stall at the Bagus foodcourt had caught fire. A group of us were then evacuated," she said.
"At about 11.30am, we were allowed back into the mall."
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