A projector in one of the lecture theatres in National University of Singapore (NUS) caught fire on Monday, prompting the evacuation of about 260 people.
According to a Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) spokeswoman, SCDF received a call at 12:21pm about a fire in one of the NUS lecture theatres.
SCDF sent two fire engines, two Red Rhinos, two fire bikes and three supporting vehicles to the scene. The fire was extinguished with one water jet within 10 minutes and nobody was injured.
About 200 people were evacuated from Lecture Theatre 7A of the NUS Engineering Block after another 60 people were brought out of the building before the arrival of SCDF.
The spokeswoman also said that the fire was “confined to the front of the lecture theatre” where there was a “console of IT equipment”.
According to Ng Wei Lin on Twitter, it was the projector which caused the fire, since it “exploded by itself” and “smoke came out” during the lecture.
SCDF is still investigating the cause of the fire.
This is the second fire that has broken out in NUS this year. In August, the Engineering Block E3A caught fire, resulting in a security guard being sent to the hospital for smoke inhalation.
Singaporean director Anthony Chen described as “surreal” the 15-minute standing ovation that followed the world premiere of his debut feature film "Ilo Ilo" at the Cannes Film Festival on Sunday. Though the ending of the premiere couldn’t have been more perfect, the 29-year-old Chen said the beginning was quite “nerve-wrecking” as it was marred by technical glitches.