Fire in basement of Johor Baru City Square forces evacuation

Emergency services were alerted at 3.40 pm to a car fire in the lower level of Johor Baru City Square, a major shopping and office hub near the CIQ Complex. Twenty-six firefighters from the Larkin and Tebrau stations arrived within six minutes, confronting dense black smoke that filled the basement. Operation commanders Suffian Sulaiman and Suhaimi Jamal directed the evacuation of shoppers and workers, who descended staircases to safety.

Three people suffered respiratory distress; a 48-year-old woman was taken to hospital, while two others received on-site treatment and were released. The fire was contained, no fatalities occurred, and investigators have yet to determine the fire’s origin or the extent of damage. The mall, which hosts over 200 retailers and is undergoing upgrades linked to the upcoming Johor-Singapore RTS Link, resumed normal operations after the incident.