SINGAPORE – The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) has advised members of the public to look for the exit signs if they are caught in a mall fire, following a scare earlier in September at VivoCity when a false fire alarm triggered some shutters to close fully and caused panic among some shoppers.

Shutters cascaded from the ceiling to the ground at around 6.45pm on Sept 1, keeping several clueless shoppers within various parts of the shopping centre for nearly 15 minutes.

SCDF said it was alerted to a potential fire at VivoCity via the Decentralised Alarm Monitoring System (Decams).

It added that within three minutes, the Decams company verified that it was a false alarm and that there was no fire at VivoCity, and hence SCDF’s assistance was not required.

Following queries from The Straits Times received on Sept 7, SCDF inspected VivoCity and confirmed that the fire safety provisions including the emergency voice communications system within the shopping mall were in working order.

SCDF said that when the fire alarm was activated on Sept 1, VivoCity made two announcements over the public address system – one for investigation of the alarm sounding, and the second to inform those in the mall that it was a false alarm.

VivoCity had also promptly deployed staff at various locations in the mall to assist in resetting the system and raising the fire shutters, SCDF added.

Gillian, a 16-year-old student who was at the scene, told ST that she was worried when she witnessed a shutter closing before she could enter VivoCity.

She was at the platform of The Sentosa Express, the monorail line connecting Sentosa island to Harbourfront MRT station, from which she was planning to commute home.

“I heard an announcement but it was not clear because the person was talking too loudly into the microphone,” Gillian said.

Mr A. Jagannath, a 36-year-old car mechanic, was there to celebrate his friend’s birthday. He thought he was locked in by the shutters too.

“I feel anxious in small spaces with big crowds. The place was filled with people, there was so much noise and I was breathless. I did not know what was happening at all,” he said.

Mr Jagannath added that his friends had driven to the mall while he took public transport.

“It’s unfortunate that I had to be trapped just as I was about to leave the place via train.”

Why do shutters come down as an automated response to fire alarms?

Public places such as malls closely align their emergency response protocol with the SCDF evacuation planning guidelines, said a spokesman of MPACT Property Management which is the company that oversees VivoCity and other commercial properties in Singapore and other parts of Asia.

The fire shutters are not meant to trap people within the premises. Instead, they help shield people and places from fires by providing separation between large spaces for the containment of fires, SCDF said in response to queries from ST.

“When the fire shutters were activated in VivoCity, the staircases and exit doors remained accessible for members of the public to evacuate safely out of the building,” SCDF said.

“People will have to look out for the green, luminescent exit sign that are installed above exits.”

The SCDF spokesman further elaborated that nobody will be shuttered in a place that does not have an exit. There always is an alternate escape route that will be marked by the green “Exit” sign.

People visiting public places can look out for these signs and use these exits in case of a fire, as they will show them the way out of a burning building.

SCDF advised the public that upon hearing the fire alarm, they should remain calm and listen to the instructions from the authorities or the emergency voice communication system within the premises.

SCDF also advised that upon confirmation of a fire, people should evacuate the area in an orderly manner via the stairs and do not use the lift.