Forum: Do more to ensure vehicles can leave carpark quickly during fire
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On Jan 27, my wife and I went to Ang Mo Kio Central for lunch and we parked our car at the HDB multi-storey carpark in Block 712A.
The fire alarm at the carpark sounded around 12.35pm and many people stopped to look at the smoke emanating from the carpark.
Fearing the worst, we immediately returned to our car, which was parked on the lower deck. The fire did not directly affect our car.
We saw many other car owners rushing back to their vehicles as we were driving off.
But we were dismayed to find that many vehicles were stuck in a queue after a car at the exit gantry was unable to leave.
From my position, I could see the driver frantically pressing the intercom, but to no avail.
Drivers kept sounding their car horns as the queue lengthened.
The standstill lasted for nearly 10 minutes until someone decided to lift the barricade by hand.
As I drove out, I was surprised to see vehicles still entering the carpark.
This harrowing incident raises several questions:
1. Are there fire sprinklers installed in such multi-storey carparks?
2. When a fire occurs or when the fire alarm is activated, should not the exit barriers be raised automatically to ensure the speedy evacuation of vehicles and people in the carpark? Also, should not the entry barrier remain down so that other cars cannot enter until the carpark is safe again?
3. If the fire causes an electrical failure at the carpark, does the exit gantry still work?
Even though there are few incidents of vehicles catching fire in carparks, more can be done to ensure that vehicles and people can leave safely, quickly and efficiently should a fire break out.
Sim Eng Cheong
