40 people evacuated from Serangoon Road shophouse fire, no injuries reported
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SINGAPORE – About 40 people were evacuated when a fire broke out on the fourth storey of a shophouse in Serangoon Road at about 9.30am on July 22.
No injuries were reported, said the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) in a Facebook post.
An aerial water jet from a combined platform ladder was deployed to prevent the fire from spreading to adjacent units.
The flames were extinguished within an hour, said SCDF, which added that damping down of the affected area was ongoing.
Damping down refers to the pouring of water onto burnt surfaces immediately after a fire has been extinguished. This helps to cool hot surfaces and prevent flames from rekindling.
The fire broke out on the fourth storey of a shophouse in Serangoon Road at about 9.30am on July 22.
PHOTO: YEE JUN
When The Straits Times arrived at the scene at 10.45am, at least five police vehicles and three fire engines were there.
Firefighting operations were ongoing, with firefighters entering and leaving the affected unit.
The fire was extinguished within an hour, said the Singapore Civil Defence Force.
ST PHOTO: SARAH LEE
Four out of the five traffic lanes in Serangoon Road were closed, causing a huge jam. The alleyway behind the shophouse was also cordoned off.
Four out of the five traffic lanes in Serangoon Road were closed, causing a huge jam.
ST PHOTO: NADINE CHUA
Vinesh Krishnan, 45, manager of Indian restaurant Podi & Poriyal, several units down, said the fire was raging when he arrived for work at 9.30am.
He said: “There was thick black smoke when I reached (the restaurant). My colleague, who arrived 10 minutes earlier, told me the smoke was even thicker then.”
The alleyway behind the shophouse was also cordoned off.
ST PHOTO: NADINE CHUA
Phillip Yong, 67, a retiree who lives in a condominium opposite the unit where the fire started, said: “I was on my way home after having breakfast in Boon Keng when I saw the smoke and knew immediately that something bad had happened.
“It seemed to me a residential unit above an Indian restaurant was affected. I know several people live there, as I’ve seen them coming in and out of the unit in the past.”
Other fires
On Feb 15, fire broke out at a shophouse in Dunlop Street. It started at a bak kwa shop and involved the contents of a kitchen exhaust unit.
Another shophouse fire in River Valley in April 2025 took the life of a 10-year-old girl and injured 21 others. The blaze started at a cooking school.
SCDF said in its annual statistics in February that more people were getting hurt in fires, with the figure rising from 80 in 2024 to 94 in 2025.
The total number of fires increased by 3 per cent – from 1,990 in 2024 to 2,050 in 2025.
There were seven fire deaths in 2024 and six in 2025.
