18 residents evacuated after fire breaks out in Ang Mo Kio coffee shop

SINGAPORE – Eighteen residents were evacuated by the police in the early morning of June 11 when a fire broke out in an Ang Mo Kio coffee shop.

No one was injured in the blaze that damaged GHK 407 Food House at Block 407 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10. The people living on the second floor were evacuated.

The fire likely originated from unattended cooking at one of the stalls in the coffee shop, said the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) in a Facebook post on June 11.

At about 2.40am, the SCDF was alerted to the fire, which was later extinguished with four water jets.

Most of the stalls suffered damage. Bak kut teh stallholder Ng Cheong Hua, 73, who also sells pig organ soup, told The Straits Times that she is worried about the lack of income for the next few months.

“I do not have a place to work at right now and I may have to find a part-time job to survive for the next few months,” she said in Mandarin.

Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who is also an MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC, visited the premises with grassroots leaders at noon. They spoke to the stallholders about repair and compensation matters, reported Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao.

In a Facebook post, SM Lee said the owner of the coffee shop has fire insurance. “This incident reminds us of the importance of having insurance too for our homes (even after the mandatory period), so that if we are caught in similar circumstances, we will still have some protection and help.”

He added: “And if you own a wet market or cooked food stall, please protect it, and yourself, with fire insurance too.”

In its Facebook post, the SCDF advises people not to leave cooking unattended; not to place flammable materials near heat sources; and not to leave grease and oil stains around the stove area.