Singapore—The fire sprinklers were accidentally activated on the first level of One Raffles Place last Monday (Mar 15), which inconvenienced shoppers, diners, and tenants who did not know they were in for a very wet morning.
A video of the incident was published on crowdsourced news site Stomp, showing footage of the very wet areas from higher storeys and from the first level itself.
According to Stomp, the management of One Raffles Place has issued an apology to those inconvenienced by the sudden downpour.
In the video, puddles of water can be seen at the food court area, while shoppers stand to the side, puzzled.
Other shoppers, especially those wearing rubber slippers, bravely walked on by.
An alarm can be heard at the beginning of the video—which was presumably the building’s fire alarm.
There was, fortunately, no fire.
The anonymous Stomper who sent in the video clip is quoted as saying, “I don’t know why the sprinklers were activated. There was no fire.
People who were eating were all wet, lucky it was not lunchtime yet.”
A representative from the shopping mall told Stomp that the sprinkler system on Level 1 of One Raffles Place was triggered at 11.30 am last Monday.
“The management views safety as our top priority and following the incident, all affected areas were cordoned off for clean-up works.
“In addition, we have rendered assistance to all affected parties.
“All retail outlets affected by this incident have since resumed operation.
“One Raffles Place sincerely apologises for any inconvenience caused to our tenants and shoppers,” the spokesperson told Stomp.
Perhaps the mall was practising for World Water Day on Mar 22? But we’re only joking, of course. One Raffles Place announced on its Facebook account on Wednesday (Mar 17) that “In conjunction with the World Water Day on 22 March, One Raffles Place will be illuminating in blue from 7pm – 11pm daily!”
Earlier this year, in a much more serious mishap, an 18-year-old youth was found dead outside One Raffles Place on the evening of Jan 5.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) was alerted to the case at about 9.30 pm that day, according to mothership.sg. The youth was pronounced dead at the scene by an SCDF paramedic.
According to CNA, the youth was a guest at Synergyinthesky’s 1-Altitude, a rooftop bar in the 62-storey building. The company confirmed that it is committed to the safety and security of its patrons and staff. It is working closely with the authorities during their investigations.
The management of One Raffles Place also noted it cooperated with the police and relevant authorities with regard to the incident.
/TISG
Read also: 18-year-old found dead at bottom of building in One Raffles Place
Singaporean falls to death into manhole at 1-Altitude, the world’s ‘highest alfresco bar’