76 workers evacuated after fire breaks out at factory in Kian Teck Road
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76 workers had evacuated the factory before SCDF arrived and no injuries were reported.
PHOTO: SCDF/FACEBOOK
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SINGAPORE – The solar panels on a factory in Kian Teck Road caught fire on the afternoon of July 27, causing 76 workers to be evacuated.
The fire was fully extinguished within 20 minutes, said the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) in a Facebook post.
The workers had been evacuated from the factory before the SCDF arrived, and no injuries were reported.
SCDF said it was alerted to the fire at 11 Kian Teck Road at 1.40pm.
The section of solar panels that caught fire measured around 15m by 10m and was mounted on the zinc roof of a single-storey factory.
“Rooftop solar panel fires can spread quickly across the rooftop (so) firefighters immediately used two water jets to contain the fire and prevent it from spreading,” said SCDF.
It said preliminary investigations indicate that the fire was likely to be of electrical origin from the solar panels.
SCDF said that it responded to three fires involving solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in the first half of 2024. Solar PV systems are typically installed in buildings and structures such as rooftops and floating platforms.
There were four such fires in 2023, up from two in 2021.
All of the fires were due to electrical origin.
When fires involving solar PV systems break out, members of the public are advised to move to a safe distance and call 995 for assistance as there is a risk of electrocution, said SCDF. They should not attempt to extinguish the fire by themselves, it added.
