SINGAPORE: About 40 firefighters were on the scene on Monday (Nov 18) to battle a fire at a storage warehouse near Hougang, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said in a Facebook post.
The fire involved kitchenware and other household items that had been stored at the rooftop of the warehouse.
The authorities were alerted to the fire at about 11.30am and when they arrived, the flames were “raging at the rooftop” and “threatening to spread”.
An SCDF vehicle seen at Kim Chuan Drive after a fire broke out on Nov 18, 2019. (Photo: Facebook/SCDF)
Firefighters donned breathing apparatus sets and made their way up a “narrow and debris-filled stairway” to fight the flames.
In addition to the 40 firemen, SCDF said it also deployed 14 emergency vehicles.
“At the height of the operations, three water jets were used to bring the fire under control,” said SCDF.
A fire broke out at 29 Kim Chuan Drive on Nov 18, 2019. (Photo: Facebook/SCDF)
Pictures shared on the SCDF Facebook page showed the charred remains of a heap of cooking pots. A video from a CNA reader showed thick black smoke billowing into the sky.
“I spotted thick black smoke,” the reader said. “I initially thought it was an accident at the Bartley Road East flyover. But looking further, I saw flames and thicker smoke.”
“I called SCDF,” he added, noting that the authorities were at the scene in roughly five minutes.
Thick black smoke was seen after a fire broke out at 29 Kim Chuan Drive on Nov 18, 2019. (Photo: CNA reader)
The fire was extinguished by 12.45pm.
There were no reported injuries. Four occupants of the premises had self-evacuated before SCDF’s arrival.
The cause of the fire is being investigated. Meanwhile, damping down operations, which prevent potential rekindling of fire, are ongoing.
