August 28, 2024, 07:41 PM
A sudden water leak occurred at Arcade @ The Capitol Kempinski on Aug. 26, 2024, after a contractor accidentally triggered the sprinkler system during routine maintenance.
The incident affected several restaurants on the first floor and led to the mall suspending operations for the day, Lianhe Zaobao and The Straits Times reported.
One tenant estimated repair costs to be up to S$80,000.
Contractor triggered sprinkler accidentally
In response to media queries, a spokesperson from mall developer Perennial Holdings explained that the leak resulted from the contractor accidentally activating the automatic sprinkler system while performing maintenance on the fire protection system on the first floor.
Following the incident, an operations team promptly shut off the water supply and dispatched a cleaning crew to address the affected areas.
The mall reopened the next day on Aug. 27.
Tenants affected by water
Hopscotch, a bar in the mall, posted on their Instagram saying that the "unexpected waterbomb" had turned "everything upside down".
The water soaked their gypsum ceiling boards and vinyl tiles and also caused faulty electricals, they wrote.
A spokesperson for Hopscotch informed ST that their repair costs were estimated between S$60,000 and S$80,000.
A video of their repair and cleanup process showed staff removing tiles and cleaning furniture.
After about two days of work, they officially reopened on Aug. 28 at 5pm.
The spokesperson said the sprinklers went off twice that day, for about 30 minutes at 2:45pm and about 10 minutes at around 6pm.
They stated that the mall enlisted cleaners to assist with the cleanup and furniture relocation, and the facility management staff stayed "all the way”.
By around 11:30pm on Aug. 26, the water had been fully removed, the spokesperson said.
Perennial Holdings said they will continue to actively follow up and provide assistance and support to affected store owners.
Top photos from Lianhe Zaobao
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