260 people evacuated after fire breaks out at Kampung Admiralty complex

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

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) told Channel NewsAsia that it responded to a fire at 676 Woodlands Drive 71, where the integrated complex is located, at about 1pm. 

“The fire involved an electrical device placed in a storeroom on the fourth floor of the building,” the SCDF said. “Fire was extinguished by members of the public using dry powder extinguishers prior to SCDF's arrival.”

There were no reported injuries and the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

The fire, which is said to be linked to an electrical floor scrubber, had triggered the alarm in the building.

Housewife Vivian Low, 29, told Channel NewsAsia that she saw senior citizens, children from the childcare centre as well as staff members from Kampung Admiralty's medical centre and pharmacy among the evacuees. 

Ms Low, who was having her lunch there, said that the evacuation of the elderly — and there were quite a number of them — was “really fast”.

Officially opened in May this year, Kampung Admiralty is an 11-storey integrated complex that houses 100 flats for seniors, a two-storey medical centre and a childcare centre. It also has several dining and retail outlets, including a 900-seater hawker centre. 

It was awarded Building of the Year at the World Architecture Festival in Amsterdam earlier this month. CHANNEL NEWSASIA

For more stories like this, visit www.channelnewsasia.com.

CLARIFICATION: The SCDF has clarified that the fire involved an electrical device placed on the fourth floor of the building, not the third.