At approximately 10:30pm last night (15 December 2016), a fire broke out at 313@Somerset Mall. Shoppers in the malls were evacuated in a hurry and multiple SCDF firefighting vehicles were parked on Orchard Road right outside 313@Somerset.
Eyewitness Mr Conrad Chua recounts his experience:
"Everyone carried on eating and then we smelled smoke. We asked the waiter if there was a fire and she said yes, the swimwear shop on the same level had caught fire!!! We asked if we should evacuate and she said it should be ok to stay.
Over the next fifteen minutes or so, food was continued to be served and we even made orders while still asking the staff how's the situation. She said it should be ok to stay. One staff then said the fire was growing bigger and we could even see the interior getting smoky. We could see staff going to every table and then the next moment a staff came by and said we should pay for the food first and they will give us a 12% discount for doing so.
By then, people were already leaving and I started to feel something wasn't right. I was on the way out to investigate when two policemen came running in past me and starting shouting loudly for everyone to LEAVE IMMEDIATELY!
Shocked and alarmed, everyone including staff and customers, started to scramble for the exit and we could see how smoky the whole interior of 313 Somerset was as everybody ran down the escalators from the 4th floor to the first as fast as they could, through smoke curtains and the roar of the emergency exhaust fans.
The emergency announcements were audible outside but not within the restaurant. We exited the building into a big crowd outside and noticed at least 4 fire engines, 2 Rhinos and two ambulances on Orchard Road outside."
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