A large fire broke out in the Macau Science Center on Friday afternoon. According to a source at the Macau Fire Department who spoke to the journalists at the scene, the cause of the blaze is related to the welding activities on the top levels of the building. The welding was occurring as part of the maintenance work on the structure, which has been happening over the past few weeks. The flames were put out within two hours following the building’s evacuation. No injuries have been reported.
This incident has resulted in a temporary closure of one of the center’s pavilions, which will last for a few days or even weeks. “For now what we can say it is that the center will be closed for some time and will only be reopened to the public after an impact assessment of the fire has been made,” a center spokesperson said.
Two hundred and sixty people, including visitors, staff and maintenance workers, were evacuated from the building when the flames began. According to reports of the incident, the evacuation procedure was completed in an orderly manner.
Firefighters were called to the scene around 2.15 p.m. and established, in cooperation with the police, a security perimeter around the venue. The fire department mobilized a total of 54 firemen and 13 vehicles to battle the blaze.
According to the person responsible for the Macau Science Center, at present it is still not possible to assess the damage, but it will likely be “substantial.”
On the scene, it was clear that the top of the building had been severely affected by the flames, and also that multiple smaller fires had broken out in the interior as a result of the initial blaze.
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