MANILA, Philippines?(UPDATE 3) A small fire hit the basement of upscale Shangri La Plaza Mall in Mandaluyong City on Friday night, prompting the evacuation of mall tenants and moviegoers.

Mandaluyong Fire Marshal Nahum Tarroza said the blaze started at about 10:30 p.m. in the storage room of Rustan?s Supermarket at the basement but smoke continued to billow out of the building well until Saturday morning.

Tarroza said the fire struck a 100 square meter storage room of the supermarket, containing stacks of grocery items.

?The cement walls were six inch thick, and the room was enclosed, so the fire was contained in a small area, but the smoke kept spilling out,? he told the Inquirer.

As of 4 a.m., smoke continued to gush out, although fire authorities said there was no danger of the blaze spreading to the upper floors.

Firefighters had to drill a hole of the mall to let the smoke out, and they also set up two large ventilation tubes to suck in the fumes and release them toward the north-side ground entrance.

Tarroza said no one was hurt. The cause of the fire remained under investigation, and fire officials could not immediately give an estimate of the property damage.

There were still tenants and customers (mainly moviegoers) in the mall when the fire struck, and they were evacuated and led outside by mall guards.

?The smoke is starting to suffocate me,? said staffer Chris Dimayacyac from the fifth floor of the mall upon answering the Inquirer?s phone call at 11:25 p.m.

He described how the smoke from the basement had started rising to the upper floors minutes after the fire struck, prompting them to head toward the exits.

Oscar Rodelas, a barangay councilor who was among the first to respond to the fire, said it would have been wiser if the mall owners had immediately allowed the opening of the entrance doors to let the smoke out, since it was only coming out of one exit.

Tarroza said he would declare the fire, which reached the third alarm, under control soon, or once the firefighters on the ground gave him the signal.