SINGAPORE - A fire broke out at Concord Primary School in Choa Chu Kang on Wednesday morning (Jan 29).

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) responded to the fire at around 10.30am. The fire involved the contents of a sports equipment storage room and was extinguished by firefighters using a hose reel.

About 1,400 people, including pupils and teachers, were evacuated by staff of the school as a precaution before firefighters arrived. There were no reported injuries.

When contacted, a Concord Primary School spokesman said that the small fire in the school’s physical education storage room damaged some sports equipment.

Lessons and normal school operations resumed about 30 minutes after the incident and the affected area was cordoned off.

“We have updated parents who have called the school regarding the incident to reassure them that there were no injuries and that school operations have resumed,” said the spokesman.

“We will also be reaching out to all parents via ParentsGateway to inform them of this incident.”

An eyewitness - who wanted to be known only as Mr Tan and who lives opposite the school at a Housing Board flat at Block 472 Choa Chu Kang Avenue 3 - said that he could smell smoke in his room at around 10am.

"I saw smoke coming from the school and the students were being evacuated to an open sheltered area on the ground floor," the 24-year-old undergraduate told The Straits Times.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.