Robinson's Department Store fire at Raffles Place

The Robinson’s Department Store building at Raffles Place was destroyed by a fire that broke out at around 9.55 am on 21 November 1972. The fire, which was one of the worst in Singapore’s history, also caused damage to the roof of the Overseas Union Bank next door¹ and forced the Stock Exchange in Clifford House at Collyer Quay to stop trading for the day.² Nine people, eight of whom were trapped in the store’s lifts, were killed in the blaze.³ The government subsequently called for the formation of a commission of inquiry to investigate this tragedy.⁴ Many of the commission’s recommendations were later incorporated into the Building Control Act of 1974, which gave the authorities the power to take action against unauthorised building works and dangerous or dilapidated buildings.⁵

Outbreak of fire
At around 9.55 am on 21 November 1972, a fire broke out at the Robinson’s Department Store building at Raffles Place. The fire was caused by a short circuit caused by the overloading of an electrical branch circuit on the ground floor of the building. The store’s in-house fire-fighting squad responded to the fire outbreak by evacuating people and attempting to put out the blaze. The fire brigade was notified shortly after the fire was detected and arrived at the scene at 10.13 am. The firemen tried to combat the fire as best as they could, but two nearby water hydrants were not functioning properly. Water issued from the hydrants, but the water pressure was too low.⁶ At noon, the water pressure fell and the firemen had to pump water from the Singapore River.⁷ The fire resulted in the deaths of nine people, eight of whom were trapped in the store’s lifts.⁸

At the opening of the Fire Brigade Week exhibition at the Victoria Memorial Hall that coincidentally took place one day after the fire, then Minister for Social Affairs Othman Wok stressed the urgent need for Singaporeans to heed fire safety measures.⁹ Two days after the fire, the National Trades Union Congress donated S$1,000 to begin a fund for the families of union members who were believed to have perished in the fire. The fund was organised by the Singapore Manual and Mercantile Workers’ Union (SMMWU).¹⁰ In less than a month, the SMMWU managed to raise more than S$25,000 for the fund.¹¹

Commission of Inquiry
On 21 December 1972, then President Benjamin Sheares officially appointed the following persons to the Commission of Inquiry tasked to investigate the Robinson’s fire: Justice F. A. Chua as chairman; Lee Chow Soon as secretary; and Jimmy Chen Wei Ying and C. A. V. Chew as members. The commission’s terms of reference called for an inquiry into the causes of the fire and the adequacy of existing fire protection measures in the Robinson’s building. The commission was also tasked to look into: staff training to deal with fires and fire drills; frequency of inspection of electrical and other connections; adequacy of fire prevention measures adopted by the management, owners or lessees of the Robinson’s building; structure of the building with reference to the partitions, walls and floors; and the adequacy of steps taken by the fire brigade in extinguishing the fire. Finally, the commission was directed to provide recommendations on measures that could be taken by owners, tenants and occupiers of buildings to present similar disasters from occurring in the future.¹²Two weeks later, the commission invited members of the public to assist in the inquiry by giving evidence regarding the fire.¹³

The public hearings for the inquiry lasted 40 days and ended on 3 May 1973. The report of the commission was presented to the president in August 1973,¹⁴ and Othman made a statement regarding the report in parliament on 30 November 1973.¹⁵ The findings of the commission were subsequently made public on 1 December 1973.¹⁶ The commission found no fault with the fire brigade and its efforts to put out the fire, but the findings revealed that Robinson’s Department Store had inadequate fire protection measures and had in fact stored large quantities of combustible goods in unauthorised loft stores that had allowed the fire to grow out of control.¹⁷ The commission concluded that by the time the fire brigade was summoned, the store could not have been saved.¹⁸

Building Control Act
In their report, the commission made recommendations pertaining to: the inspection of unauthorised additions and alterations to buildings; the means of exit; regulations and maintenance of electrical installations and lifts; adequate staff training on procedures to take in the event of fire; as well as changes to the operational procedures of the fire brigade.¹⁹

The recommendations regarding the inspection of unauthorised additions and alterations to buildings were quickly taken up in the Building Control Bill. The bill was first presented by then Minister for Law and National Development E. W. Barker in parliament on 28 August 1973.²⁰ On the second reading of the bill, three additional sub-clauses were proposed in light of the Robinson’s fire and eventually accepted. These sub-clauses were concerned with: the control, regulation and supervision of premises used for trade; measures pertaining to the constructing, installation and inspection of lifts and elevators; and the provision for air and open spaces within or between buildings.²¹ The bill was passed on 30 November 1973²² and the Building Control Act came into operation on 1 April 1974.²³

Opening and closure of stores
On 11 December 1972, a new Robinson’s Department Store was opened at Specialists’ Centre along Orchard Road. There were also plans to rebuild the store on the Raffles Place site as required under the lease agreement with the site’s landlord, the Portuguese Catholic Mission.²⁴ However, a month later, the government acquired the site for urban redevelopment.²⁵ Robinson’s then reopened a Raffles Place branch in July 1977 at Clifford Centre, which subsequently closed in November 1983.²⁶ In June 1983, the company moved its main store to Centrepoint.²⁷ In May 2014, the Centrepoint store closed down following the end of its lease.²⁸ The retail group (now known as Robinsons) opened its new flagship store, Robinsons Orchard, at the former The Heeren mall along Orchard Road in November 2013²⁹ and continues to operate Robinsons stores at Raffles City (opened in March 2001),³⁰ Jem mall in Jurong East (opened in June 2013)³¹ and The Gardens at Mid Valley City mall in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (opened in September 2007).³²



References
1. “Nine Feared Dead,” Straits Times, 22 November 1972, 1. (From NewspaperSG)
2. “Fire Disrupts Share Trading,” Straits Times, 22 November 1972, 17. (From NewspaperSG)
3. Singapore. Commission of Inquiry into the Robinson's Fire, Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Robinson’s Fire, 1973 (Singapore: Singapore National Printers, 1973), 3. (Call no. RSING 614.84 SIN)
4. “Robinson’s Fire: Govt Orders Inquiry,” Straits Times, 5 December 1972, 1. (From NewspaperSG)
5. “Two New Laws Come into Force Today,” Straits Times, 1 April 1974, 9. (From NewspaperSG)
6. Singapore. Commission of Inquiry into the Robinson's Fire, Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Robinson’s Fire, 1973, 3–11. 
7. “Nine Feared Dead.”
8. Singapore. Commission of Inquiry into the Robinson's Fire, Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Robinson’s Fire, 1973, 3.
9.” ‘Biggest Ever’ Fire-Fighting Display,” Straits Times, 15 November 1972, 11; “All That’s Left – A Morning-After View…,” Straits Times, 23 November 1972, 5. (From NewspaperSG)
10. “NTUC Starts Fund for Fire Victims’ Families,” Straits Times, 24 November 1972, 10. (From NewspaperSG)
11. “Fire Fund Tops $25,000,” Straits Times, 14 December 1972, 24. (From NewspaperSG)
12. “Judge Heads Fire Inquiry,” Straits Times, 27 December 1972, 30 (From NewspaperSG); Singapore, Government Gazette. Extraordinary, vol. 14, G. N. 118, 26 December 1972, 4757–759. (Call no. RSING 959.57 SGG-[HIS])
13. “Robinson’s Fire Inquiry: Public Invited To Give Evidence,” Straits Times, 7 January 1973, 1. (From NewspaperSG)
14. Singapore. Commission of Inquiry into the Robinson's Fire, Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Robinson’s Fire, 1973, ii.
15. Parliament of Singapore, Report of Commission of Inquiry into Fire at Robinson Departmental Store, vol. 32 of Parliamentary Debates: Official Report, 30 November 1973, cols. 1314–319. (Call no. RSING 328.5957 SIN)
16. “Inquiry Clears Robinson Fire Fighters,” Straits Times, 1 December 1973, 1. (From NewspaperSG)
17. Singapore. Commission of Inquiry into the Robinson's Fire, Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Robinson’s Fire, 1973, 5–6, 9–11, 14, 16.
18. Parliament of Singapore, Report of Commission of Inquiry into Fire at Robinson Departmental Store, 1315.
19. Singapore. Commission of Inquiry into the Robinson's Fire, Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Robinson’s Fire, 1973, 18–19.
20. Parliament of Singapore, Building Control Bill, vol. 32 of Parliamentary Debates: Official Report, 28 August 1973, col. 1273. (Call no. RSING 328.5957 SIN)
21. Parliament of Singapore, Building Control Bill, vol. 32 of Parliamentary Debates: Official Report, 1338–339.
22. Parliament of Singapore, Building Control Bill, vol. 32 of Parliamentary Debates: Official Report, 1341.
23. “Two New Laws Come into Force Today.”
24. Masie Kwee, “Robinson’s Plans To Rebuild at Fire Site,” Straits Times, 12 December 1972, 15. (From NewspaperSG)
25. “Govt Takes Over Robinson Fire Site,” Straits Times, 18 January 1973, 1. (From NewspaperSG)
26. “Robinson’s Sixth Store Opening,” Business Times, 15 July 1977, 12; “Page 15 Advertisements Column 2,” Straits Times, 18 July 1977, 15; Oei Sin Geok, “Retrenchment at Robinson’s,” Singapore Monitor, 2 June 1984, 3. (From NewspaperSG)
27. “Rebirth of Robinson’s,” Straits Times, 3 June 1983, 2. (From NewspaperSG)
28. Gladys Chung, “Robinsons MD Quits Months After Grand Orchard Opening,” Straits Times, 14 June 2014, 8–9. (From NewspaperSG)
29. Natasha Ann Zachariah, “Robinsons’ Fancy New Home,” Straits Times, 9 November 2013, 16. (From NewspaperSG)
30. Cat Ong, “It’s Worth Waiting For,” Straits Times, 15 March 2001, 6. (From NewspaperSG)
31. Mathew Wee, Robinsons Teams Up With Local Labels,” Straits Times, 21 June 2013, 14–15. (From NewspaperSG)
32. ZA Rahim, “Fun Land for Shopping,” Straits Times, 27 November 2007, 58. (From NewspaperSG)

Further resources
“Thick Basement Walls Save Cars From Blaze ,” Straits Times, 22 November 1972, 9. (From NewspaperSG)

Ray Tyers, Singapore: Then & Now (Singapore: Landmark, 1993), 129. 
(Call no. RSING 959.57 TYE-[HIS])



The information in this article is valid as at 1 September 2014 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.