SINGAPORE – The sudden activation of a fire sprinkler system at Arcade @ The Capitol Kempinski on Aug 26 resulted in an indoor “rainfall”, with water pouring across the upscale mall and forcing the mall’s abrupt closure.

The unexpected torrent drenched some restaurants on the ground floor, with at least one of them estimating the cost of the damage to be in the tens of thousands.

A spokesman for Hopscotch, a restaurant and bar which opened in the mall in 2021, told The Straits Times that the water flooded the shop “quite badly”.

“We have to change our vinyl floor entirely, and for our roof, the gypsum board was damaged as well,” he said, estimating that the total cost of the damage would be $60,000 to $80,000.

The spokesman said the fire sprinklers went off twice. Water cascaded down at around 2.45pm for about 30 minutes. Then, at around 6pm, the sprinklers were triggered again and the “downpour” lasted for about 10 minutes.

The spokesman said the mall engaged cleaners to help them with the cleaning and shifting of furniture, and the facility management staff “stayed with us all the way”.

The water was completely cleared away only at around 11.30pm on Aug 26.

Hopscotch was back in business by 5pm on Aug 27, although a section of the eatery remained closed.

Another affected restaurant was The Masses, which opened in the mall in April.

Arcade @ The Capitol Kempinski, located in Stamford Road, is managed by Perennial (Singapore) Retail Management, which is a subsidiary of Perennial Holdings.

A spokesperson for Perennial (Singapore) Retail Management told ST that the fire sprinklers were activated while contractors were carrying out routine servicing of the mall’s fire protection system. 

“Our operations team responded immediately to investigate and the water supply was quickly turned off,” said the spokesperson, adding that a cleaning team was dispatched to clean up the affected areas.

“We had also mobilised our technical team to assist our tenants on the expedient reinstatement of their businesses.”

The spokesperson said the mall will continue following up with tenants to offer assistance and support.

The spokesperson added that the mall is now open to the public, with some tenants resuming operations on Aug 27.

“We apologise for the inconvenience caused to our tenants and shoppers, and are working with our contractors to put in place measures to prevent a similar occurrence in the future,” said the spokesperson.

The mall also denied earlier reports that the water had come from The Capitol Kempinski Hotel’s relaxation pool on the fourth floor.

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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.