SINGAPORE — About 1,000 staff and guests at the Carlton Hotel in Bras Basah had to be evacuated on Thursday (Feb 14) afternoon after a “small explosion” and fire broke out in a switch room.

There were no reported injuries, said the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).

Utilities firm SP Group said the preliminary findings from its investigation showed that the fire had been caused by equipment failure at the electrical substation servicing the hotel. The failure also resulted in a power trip that led to blackouts in parts of central Singapore.

A spokeswoman from the hotel told TODAY: “At 1.15pm, a small fire and a small explosion was reported in the switch room, located at the back of the hotel. Some people heard a blast along Carver Street.”

“As per our safety protocol, we evacuated all guests and staff, about 1,000 people in total, to an area near Bras Basah complex. Alternative plans were made for guests, such as sending them to Gardens by the Bay.”

Guests were able to re-enter the hotel lobby at 2.30pm and were allowed to return to their rooms at 3.15pm.

However, not all the lifts were working by then. At 4.16pm, some of the lifts were still cordoned off and an American hotel guest told TODAY there were only two working at that point.

The guest said she “heard two big booms, and after the first boom the power went out”. She also saw smoke outside the window of her 16th storey room.

This was when the fire alarms went off, she added.

“The announcement said there was an emergency situation in the hotel. Please make your way to the nearest exit, don’t use the lifts.”

British retiree David Brown and his wife were at the hotel swimming pool when the evacuation took place. When TODAY spoke to the couple, they were at Bras Basah Complex, still in their swimming costumes and waiting to return to their room.

They said the hotel managed the situation well.

“We did leave the hotel very quickly and it was very organised. No rush, no panic, just get out you know,” Mr Brown said.

Some Korean Air flight attendants staying at Carlton Hotel had to make other arrangements as they had flights to catch on Thursday evening. The hotel arranged for them to be moved to Crowne Plaza Hotel at 3.45pm.

Several Facebook users wrote about hearing the explosion, while some posted photos of SCDF vehicles outside the hotel and others complained about the ensuing blackout.

Facebook user Ricardo Sentosa uploaded a video from nearby Odeon Towers, where he was working at the time of the incident, and mentioned that there were “two explosions” at Carlton Hotel.

In the video, Mr Sentosa can be heard saying: “You can see the door handle has been blast open, with smoke coming out.”

The SCDF said it responded to a “fire incident” at 76 Bras Basah Road at about 1.15pm.

“The fire, which was contained within a switch room, was extinguished using fire extinguishers,” it said in a statement.

The substation equipment failure also disrupted electricity supply to several MRT stations and central areas of the island.

SBS Transit said that seven stations on the North-East Line were affected by the power outage.

They are: HarbourFront, Outram Park, Chinatown, Clarke Quay, Dhoby Ghaut, Boon Keng and Potong Pasir stations.

“This was due to a dip in the power grid network,” said corporate communications senior vice president Tammy Tan in a press statement.

Emergency lights were turned on during the period, which lasted less than 25 minutes. Train services were not affected, she added.

Facebook user Jimi Tan uploaded pictures of the situation at Chinatown MRT station at 1.20pm, showing that gantries and display screens were still in service despite the blackout.

According to SP Group:

• At 1.21pm, power supply was fully restored to all areas except Carlton Hotel.
• At 5.35pm, supply had returned to all the hotel’s common areas.
• At 6.34pm, supply had been fully restored to Carlton Hotel.

This incident occurred despite the equipment being inspected on Feb 1, said SP Group.

The company said it will investigate the incident, as well as the fire at Bright Hill substation on Jan 26, which caused an electricity disruption that affected parts of Ang Mo Kio, Bishan, Sin Ming and Thomson.

A spokesperson from the Energy Market Authority said that it will also investigate the cause of the Carlton Hotel power supply disruption.

“Depending on the outcome of our investigations, we will decide on the appropriate action to take against any party found to be responsible for the disruption. We apologise for the inconvenience caused.” 

CLARIFICATION: In an earlier version of this story, the Carlton Hotel spokeswoman was quoted saying some people had heard a blast along Queen Road. She has clarified that the blast was heard along Carver Street.