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Thread: Two guards die in Marina Bay condo fire

  1. #1
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    Default Two guards die in Marina Bay condo fire

    http://www.straitstimes.com/archive/...-fire-20140115

    Two guards die in Marina Bay condo fire

    Published on Jan 15, 2014

    By Yeo Sam Jo And Priscilla Goy


    WHEN a fire alarm went off at the Marina Bay Suites condominium on Monday night, two security guards took a service lift up to the 65th floor to investigate.

    As the lift door opened at the floor, one of them shouted over the walkie-talkie: "Fire, fire!"

    Those were the last words of Malaysian Sooria Kala Kanaseon, 34, who died along with her colleague - Singaporean Sim Lai Huat, 58 - said Mr Sri Narayan Singh.

    Mr Singh, the managing director of security firm Pico Guards, said that the pair - employees of his firm - were likely overwhelmed by the blaze when the lift door opened.

    The fire broke out just after 10pm on Monday at the 66-storey residential building.

    Firefighters had to break into the service lift lobby of the sole unit on the 65th floor, which was engulfed in flames.

    The apartment has been sold, but remains unoccupied.

    The fire was put out in little over an hour in an operation involving 50 firefighters and three water jets.

    Two charred bodies were found at about 2am yesterday inside the service lift opening.

    A Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) spokesman said the fire involved renovation materials, such as paint, and that the fire was confined to the service lift lobby area.

    Residents of the mostly unoccupied luxury condominium were evacuated, but were allowed to return to their homes after SCDF officers reviewed the building's safety early yesterday morning.

    Mr Singh said Mr Sim supervised four other security officers who worked at the condominium.

    He told The Straits Times yesterday: "Both (victims) responded according to standard procedures. They heard the fire alarm and went to assess if it was a false alarm or not."

    When The Straits Times visited Mr Sim's mother, Madam Goh Eng Keow, who is in her 80s, at her Chai Chee flat yesterday, she said that her son had been the closest to her of her eight children.

    Mr Sim was married with two daughters and a son.

    He had been in the security industry for about 25 years and joined Pico Guards about four months ago.

    Ms Sooria Kala, whose husband works in the same company, had been with Pico for about 18 months.

    Mr Singh said this was the first time such an incident had happened in Pico Guards' 18-year history.

    The firm employs over 500 staff.

    It will pay for both victims' funeral expenses and is helping Ms Sooria Kala's family repatriate her body to Malaysia.

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    Additional reporting by Lim Yan Liang

  2. #2
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    Default Over 90% of units sold, most unoccupied

    http://www.straitstimes.com/archive/...upied-20140115

    Over 90% of units sold, most unoccupied

    Published on Jan 15, 2014

    By Nur Asyiqin Mohamad Salleh And Yeo Sam Jo


    MORE than 90 per cent of units at the 66-storey Marina Bay Suites have been sold - though most remain unoccupied after being snapped up by investors who are not living in them.

    Mr Thomas Tan, director of residential and marketing for Raffles Quay Asset Management which manages the luxury condominium, said there are residents living in only about 20 of the 221 units. So far, 203 units have been sold.

    Property agents told The Straits Times that around half of the owners are wealthy locals while the rest are mainly international buyers from Malaysia, China and Indonesia.

    Developed by a consortium controlled by Keppel Land, Cheung Kong Holdings and Hongkong Land Holdings, Marina Bay Suites boasts bayfront views, spa lounges and massage terraces.

    Agents say units cost $2,700 to $3,000 per sq ft. A three-bedroom unit can go for about $4 million, while a four-bedder can top $6 million. Apartments range from 1,600 sq ft to 2,700 sq ft.

    The development has 108 three-bedroom units - all sold - 110 four-bedroom apartments and three penthouses with private pools, one of which fetched $19.3 million. Each floor typically houses four apartments, each served by a private lift lobby.

    It is understood that if a fire breaks out, all lifts will be sent to the first floor and residents - alerted by an alarm - must evacuate by one of two stairways.

    Some residents were left shaken after Monday's fire. "I am very, very tired," said Mrs Akmam, 40, an Indonesian tourist whose 53rd-floor unit filled with smoke. "I panicked and ran out in just my pyjamas. The lifts were not working so we had to take the stairs. I bought an apartment in Singapore because it is very safe and clean here. But now I want to sell."

    But accountant Hugh Von Bergen stays unfazed. The 55-year- old, whose 24th-floor apartment is three floors down from one of Marina Bay Suites' several refuge floors, said: "It's a very well- designed building. There are staircases that lead to the refuge floor. I don't feel unsafe."

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