SINGAPORE - About 260 people, including the elderly and children, were evacuated after a fire broke out at Kampung Admiralty retirement complex on Wednesday (Dec 26).

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it responded to the fire, which occurred at 676 Woodlands Drive 71 around 1pm.

Although the cause of the fire is still being investigated, SCDF said that it involved an electrical device placed in a storeroom on the fourth floor of the building.

The fire was extinguished by members of the public using dry powder extinguishers before SCDF arrived. The 260 people were also evacuated prior to SCDF's arrival, after a fire alarm was sounded, SCDF added.

No injuries were reported.

Ms Vivian Low, a 29-year-old housewife, was having lunch in the area when the incident happened. She said that she saw elderly people, children from the complex's childcare centre and various staff evacuating the building, adding that most of the elderly needed wheelchairs to move around.

Ms Low said: "I was worried about the old folks as they were mostly in wheelchairs, but SCDF and the complex's staff really did their job well and helped them evacuate as fast as possible", adding that she saw at least one SCDF officer helping to push an elderly person on a wheelchair.

Kampung Admiralty was described in 2017 as a "self-contained" retirement complex, consisting of two HDB blocks, a medical centre, a hawker centre, rooftop vegetable and community gardens, and an active-ageing hub.

It was awarded Building of the Year at this year's World Architecture Festival in November, considered the Oscars of the architectural world.