SINGAPORE — Shoppers were evacuated from Orchard Road shopping mall Wisma Atria on Monday (Oct 17) after a fire broke out in a second floor unit. Four people were sent to Singapore General Hospital for smoke inhalation, said the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).

The SCDF said it was alerted to the fire, which involved contents of a cabinet in the shop unit, at about 5.20pm. The "minor fire" was extinguished by SCDF emergency responders using one water jet.

“The building was evacuated as a precautionary measure. The cause of fire is being investigated,” said the SCDF on Facebook. About 100 people were evacuted by the police and SCDF. By 6.30pm, tenants and patrons were allowed back into the building.

Storekeepers told TODAY the fire started at the shop, Masterpiece Time & Jewels.

An employee at Masterpiece Time & Jewels said three staff members were in the store when they saw smoke coming out from the air vent. No customers were there at the time.

Photo: Toh Ee Ming/TODAY

An employee from one of the nearby stores, who declined to be named, said they were told by security to evacuate at about 5.20pm. He said: “There was nothing much to panic about... It was only smoky... and this was not the first time that it’s happened..."

Ms Lee, 23, a crew member of  Paris Baguette which is situated opposite Masterpiece Time & Jewels, said they heard the fire alarm go off before they were told to evacuate. They subsequently had to throw away about S$1,000 worth of the store’s pastries, sandwiches and salads.

Ms Maria Cristina Pacayra, 46, an employee at clothes store Tyan, said she had been checking some stocks when the alarm sounded. She said: “We didn’t know if it was really a fire... (at that point) but then I smelled the smoke, and that’s when I went out.  I was worried because there was smoke and it’s near our place... but thank God, (nothing was affected).”

The SCDF dispatched two fire bikes, two fire engines, two Red Rhinos, three support vehicles and two ambulances to the location.

In December last year, a 48-year-old man fell to his death inside Wisma Atria. In that month, a fire erupted at Lucky Plaza and there was a blackout at Orchard Central, caused by water seepage. Two streetside Christmas decorations along Orchard Road also caught fire earlier in the month. ADDITIONAL REPORTING TOH EE MING