<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>Fire alarm, smoke and evacuation calls go unheeded at shopping centre
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I AM concerned about the professionalism of the building management at Causeway Point after an incident there last Friday.
I was there with a friend. At about 5pm, the fire alarm went off. There was an announcement asking the public to remain calm while the situation was investigated. This went on for about 20 minutes. I was in the basement and due to the commotion on the upper levels, I went to the escalator to check things out.
To my surprise, there was a strong smell of smoke and I could see smoke emitting from one of the upper levels. I could not see the exact level as there were a lot of people gathering. Firefighters could also be seen.
I went to the customer service counter, where I was rather taken aback by the fact that customer service officers were still helping customers with transactions. An officer told me there might be a fire, and a need to evacuate the building. The public announcement asking the public to remain calm was still being aired, and customer service officers were still attending to customers.
About 10 minutes after I spoke to the officer, there was an announcement that the public should evacuate the building. I made my way out but surprisingly, while most shops were locked and tenants left immediately, some retailers still served customers. And there were still people entering Causeway Point.
My concern is, why did the investigation take so long when smoke could be seen in the building? Even if there was no fire, it would be sensible to let people know what is happening as soon as possible. Why were retailers still attending to customers after the announcement to evacuate was made? Was there a breach of security or safety, or were retailers simply not told what to do in an emergency? Marcus Loh
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I AM concerned about the professionalism of the building management at Causeway Point after an incident there last Friday.
I was there with a friend. At about 5pm, the fire alarm went off. There was an announcement asking the public to remain calm while the situation was investigated. This went on for about 20 minutes. I was in the basement and due to the commotion on the upper levels, I went to the escalator to check things out.
To my surprise, there was a strong smell of smoke and I could see smoke emitting from one of the upper levels. I could not see the exact level as there were a lot of people gathering. Firefighters could also be seen.
I went to the customer service counter, where I was rather taken aback by the fact that customer service officers were still helping customers with transactions. An officer told me there might be a fire, and a need to evacuate the building. The public announcement asking the public to remain calm was still being aired, and customer service officers were still attending to customers.
About 10 minutes after I spoke to the officer, there was an announcement that the public should evacuate the building. I made my way out but surprisingly, while most shops were locked and tenants left immediately, some retailers still served customers. And there were still people entering Causeway Point.
My concern is, why did the investigation take so long when smoke could be seen in the building? Even if there was no fire, it would be sensible to let people know what is happening as soon as possible. Why were retailers still attending to customers after the announcement to evacuate was made? Was there a breach of security or safety, or were retailers simply not told what to do in an emergency? Marcus Loh
