A fire broke out at a food stall at the Food Republic food court in 1Utama Shopping Centre in Bandar Utama this morning, the Fire and Rescue Department confirmed.

The fire in the stall’s kitchen involved a 2x3 metre vent. A Fire and Rescue Department spokesman said they received a distress call at 9.34am.

“A fire engine with five firefighters were deployed from the Damansara station and arrived at 9.47am. However, the mall’s safety personnel managed to put out the fire before firefighters arrived,” the spokesman said.

1Utama fire
A mall personnel cleaning up the aftermath of the fire at the food court. - Astro AWANI

There were no reports of injuries, the spokesman added, and the cause of the fire was being investigated.

The incident had caused a traffic crawl on the Damansara-Puchong Highway (LDP) when road users slowed down their vehicles to take a quick look at the smoke coming out of the building.

There were many photos uploaded on social media sites, including Twitter, showing thick smoke coming out from the mall’s second floor and somewhat created a bit of panic among the public.

However, 1Utama general manager (advertising and promotions) Patrick So denied that the photos circulating on social media were real, saying the images have been distorted.