70 people evacuated after fire breaks out at Singapore General Hospital

SINGAPORE – A fire broke out at Singapore General Hospital (SGH) on Monday (Aug 19) afternoon, causing 70 people - including patients and staff - to be evacuated.

The smoke detector alarm at basement 1 level of Block 2 was activated at 1.50pm, SGH told CNA in response to media queries. 

The small fire, which involved an electrical component - had burnt itself out before firefighters arrived, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) told CNA.

"In view of the lingering smoke, as a safety precaution, SCDF evacuated about 70 persons from the premises. There were no reported injuries and the cause of the fire is under investigation," SCDF said.

The evacuation was made "purely for safety reasons and out of extreme caution", said SGH chief operating officer Tan Jack Thiam.

"No one was in danger at anytime," he said, adding that SGH's response team had arrived on site within minutes of the alarm going off.

Mr Tan said that preliminary investigations found that an electrical component inside a scanner had overheated and emitted smoke. 

The scanner was shut down immediately.

SGH arranged for patients to have their scans done using other scanners in the department after the area was cleared of smoke and SCDF gave the all-clear for people to return to the premises.

"There was minimal disruption to our service," said Mr Tan, adding that arrangements have been made for a few patients to have their scans rescheduled.

"We apologise for the inconveniences caused by this incident," said Mr Tan. CNA

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