Hundreds Evacuated After Rubbish Bin Catches Fire at Suria KLCC

There was chaos as hundreds of shoppers at Suria KLCC were forced to abandon their meals or leave retail stores when the fire alarm went off at the shopping mall.

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.

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.

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.)

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

Hilariously, the night ended well, as the mall's doors reopened after all the chaos to Celine Dion’s song, aptly titled “I’m Alive.”