Certis Cisco armoured van catches fire

He was at the loading bay at VivoCity when he saw smoke emanating from a Certis Cisco armoured van."I was sure that the van would catch fire," said Mr Mohamed Sani Bakri.

The 32-year-old driver, who was at the mall yesterday at 12.35pm to deliver seafood items, saw three armed Certis Cisco auxiliary police officers standing behind the vehicle.

Said Mr Mohamed: "They looked shocked and were making phone calls.

"I was scared the van would explode, so I asked them if they had a fire extinguisher, but they said no."

He alerted a security guard, who informed the authorities.

When Mr Mohamed finished his delivery 15 minutes later, the smoke had become more widespread.

"Thick, white smoke was filling all of the basement carpark and I knew the vehicle had caught fire," said Mr Mohamed.

"I knew that the inside of the vehicle would not burn easily, I was just afraid it would explode," he added.

A Certis Cisco spokesman confirmed that the security vehicle was carrying cash consignments.

"The fire was concentrated on the front portion of the van.

"Our officers reacted swiftly and safely to recover the cash consignments from the rear when they could not put out the fire with a fire extinguisher in the van," the spokesman told The New Paper.

CASH CONSIGNMENTS

She added: "No cash consignments were affected and they were transferred onto a replacement vehicle."

Certis Cisco is investigating.

A Singapore Civil Defence Force spokesman said two fire bikes, a Red Rhino and a fire engine were sent to the scene.

Firefighters put out the fire in 10 minutes and there were no casualties.