A fire broke out late on Thursday, February 5, at Orchard Towers, sending thick smoke billowing from the mall's third-floor carpark and prompting a swift response from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).
SCDF said that it was alerted to the incident at about 10.40 pm at 1 Claymore Drive. The fire involved a car parked in the carpark on the third floor. Firefighters deployed a water jet and a fire blanket to put out the blaze.
No injuries were reported, and the cause of the fire is currently under investigation.
Videos of the incident circulating online showed flames and black smoke rising from the carpark area. In one clip posted on Reddit, the fire could be seen burning intensely, while another video showed a fire engine arriving at the scene amid hazy, smoke-filled conditions.
The incident adds to Orchard Towers' history of fire-related cases. In 2018, about 60 people were evacuated after a fire broke out at a bar in the building. Another fire in 2016 led to the evacuation of 15 people from the mall.
SCDF statistics show that vehicle fires have been on a slight upward trend, rising from 215 cases in 2023 to 220 in 2024, an increase of 2.3%. Of the 220 vehicle fires reported last year, only one involved an electric vehicle.
Fires at indoor and multi-storey carparks have also more than doubled over the past few years, increasing from 14 incidents in 2020 to 36 in 2024. None of these cases involved electric vehicles.
According to SCDF, the most common causes of vehicle fires include ignition sources such as overheating and electrical faults in the engine compartment.
