4,000 evacuated after fire breaks out in mall

About 4,000 people, including this woman who was having her hair done at a salon, were evacuated from Century Square mall in Tampines after a fire broke out in its foodcourt yesterday. The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) responded to the fire, which involved a floor-cleaning machine on the third floor, at about 4.15pm. The fire was extinguished by sprinklers in the mall before SCDF officers arrived. Shoppers and staff in the building were evacuated as a precautionary measure. No injuries were reported, and the cause of the fire is being investigated, said the SCDF. A spokesman for AsiaMalls, which manages Century Square, said the fire alarm was immediately activated when the fire broke out. The mall will be open for business as usual today, she added.