Hundreds Evacuated After Rubbish Bin Catches Fire at Suria KLCC

According to a statement by the shopping mall located right below the iconic Petronas Twin Towers, “a fire alarm was triggered in the back-of-house area at Suria KLCC due to the presence of smoke” on 29 September 2024 at approximately 8.07 pm.

The smoke originated from boxes burning inside a rubbish bin at the emergency stairway in the food court area. The smoke was primarily contained within the stairwell, but as a precaution, management initiated an evacuation to ensure the safety of all visitors and tenants. According to Malay Mail, eyewitness accounts indicated that the motorcycle parking area was filled with smoke, which prompted swift action from security personnel.

The Fire and Rescue Department (BOMBA) was contacted immediately and quickly arrived on the scene at 8:15 pm. They promptly controlled the smoke, which was entirely dissipated by 8:45 pm. The Bomba cleared the area, and the mall was deemed safe for customers to re-enter at approximately 9:34 pm. The mall resumed normal operations.

Thankfully, no injuries or casualties were reported.

Naturally, netizens took to X to share their experience of the evacuation. One said that due to language barriers, a security guard mistakenly told them there was a “firing” instead of a “fire”, which caused them to panic. Videos that they posted showed hundreds of people gathered outside the building, where a fire engine was parked.

while evacuating KLCC , when i asked the security guards what happened they said “firing , some firing” that panicked the hell out of me , at-least teach the guards to use the correct words #klcc #fire #foodcourt pic.twitter.com/GGKXQVkS3d

— Zaid Zakir (@zaidanFT9) September 29, 2024

Another dramatically wrote, “SURIA KLCC IS DOWN!!!” accompanied by videos of smoke at the food court and footage of them leaving the building via the escalator.

SURIA KLCC IS DOWN❗️❗️❗️#suriaklcc pic.twitter.com/ggbrfzM2v5

— Ammar (@ammarcss_) September 29, 2024

A user said that the fire and PA system went off, but no one at the restaurant paid any attention to it because they thought it was a malfunction. Then they saw the BOMBA squad running and quickly asked for the bill. (Just a thing to take note of, folks: if this ever happens to you, evacuate immediately and only return to settle the bill after everything is okay.)

lmao fire at suria klccpart kelakarnya the siren and PA system were going off but nobody at the restaurant gaf because we thought it was a malfunctionuntil we saw bomba running and we were like oh! can we get the bill please?? pic.twitter.com/NNuxvQ2BvY

— شكينة (@_nsyakinah) September 29, 2024

The X account of MYNEWSHUB also shared the image of the rubbish bin where the smoke emanated from:

Pengunjung KLCC gempar, tong sampah terbakarKUALA LUMPUR: Pengunjung pusat beli-belah terkenal di ibu negara, KLCC digemparkan dengan bunyi siren dan kepulan asap akibat kebakaran di tingkat tiga bangunan berkenaan, malam ini.Difahamkan, kejadian dilapor Sistem Pengawasan… pic.twitter.com/Mh83fTnmrF

— MYNEWSHUB (@mynewshub) September 29, 2024