There were scenes of confusion yesterday morning as shoppers and employees went to 313@somerset, only to find that the shutters were down and entrances barricaded.
The Orchard Road shopping mall was closed for 3½ hours yesterday, amid the peak Christmas shopping season, following a fire that broke out at one of its stores on Thursday night.
Security guards had to turn away shoppers and store employees.
The Straits Times understands that the cause of the fire, in the storeroom of clothing store Ripcurl on the fourth floor, was of an electrical nature.
The mall's general manager Cheryl Goh, who would only say that it was working with the authorities to investigate the cause, said the closure was for testing, cleanup and rectification works.
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More fires in malls
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There have been more fires in shopping malls this year, compared to last year.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force said there were 54 episodes of fire in the first 11 months of this year, compared to 46 in the whole of last year.
In October, about 100 shoppers were evacuated from Wisma Atria after a fire broke out in a watch shop on the second floor.
In May, Parkway Parade was closed for four days after a blaze.
Fire safety experts said malls can prevent fire occurrences by conducting regular checks on electrical equipment and wiring, among other measures.
Safety training manager Abdul Gaffor said: "Good housekeeping and regular maintenance would solve a lot of these problems."
A fire safety engineer, who declined to be named, advised that cables should be properly insulated, and power points not overloaded. "There should be house rules for the tenants to observe the good practices. Only then can we significantly reduce the number of fires occurring in malls."
She apologised for the inconvenience caused to retailers and shoppers at the mall, which is managed by Lend Lease.
An employee from clothing store Mango, who wanted to be known only as Ms Neba, found out the mall was temporarily closed only when she arrived for work at 9.55am.
When security guards told the employees who were waiting around that the mall was likely to open only after noon - its official opening time is 10am - some left, while others told The Straits Times they were going for a coffee break.
Ms Neba and three of her colleagues were redeployed to the Mango outlet in Ion Orchard.
Some employees were allowed to enter the mall temporarily to take what they needed from their shops.
Undergraduate Regine Lau, 22, was there at 11am with her mother and sister intending to do some Christmas shopping before their 12.30pm appointment at Salon Vim.
"The salon told us to go to their Wisma Atria outlet instead. It is okay - we can shop at the other malls in Orchard Road instead."
The mall reopened at 1.30pm, but with the escalators on one side closed for maintenance.
A sign at Ripcurl said it was closed until further notice.
Next to it was gift shop Precious Moments, where business resumed despite the lingering smell of smoke in the air. Sales assistant Liew Mei Xin, 20, said the night before, she had noticed big clouds of smoke coming out of Ripcurl.
"An employee of (hotpot restaurant) Hai Di Lao called the police. I just took my things and ran out. I was very scared," she said.
Ms Liew said her shop was cleaned up by the time she got in at 1.30pm.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it was alerted to the fire around 10.25pm on Thursday. The blaze was put out using a single water jet, while the mall's sprinkler system was also activated, said an SCDF spokesman. A woman was taken to Singapore General Hospital after shehad a fall.
The closure meant that stores lost nearly four hours of sales.
Sales assistant Teh Chee Foong, 20, of sports retailer I Run, said: "We would have lost some customers. Hopefully we can just pay half-day rental and get compensation."
Between January and last month, there have been 14 fires in Orchard Road, compared to 16 in the whole of last year, said the SCDF.
Last December, there were a few fires in the precinct, with one at a Lucky Plaza restaurant and two involving Christmas decorations.
Street decorations outside Peranakan Place along the shopping strip had caught fire, while a Christmas tree outside Knightsbridge mall also went up in flames.
•Additional reporting by Chew Hui Min
