Car catches fire in MCE tunnel during evening peak hour; sprinkler system activated

SINGAPORE – A car caught fire in the MCE tunnel during the evening peak hour on Sept 18, triggering the sprinkler system and bringing traffic to a halt.

The tunnel was also closed for about 20 minutes from around 7pm.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said that it was alerted to the fire along MCE towards the AYE at about 6.40pm.

The blaze was extinguished by MCE’s deluge system and SCDF firefighters using a compressed air foam jet.

The deluge system is akin to an oversized fire sprinkler system and is capable of dispensing 350 litres of water a second.

There were no reported injuries, SCDF said, adding that the car involved was not an electric vehicle.

A composite video posted on the Singapore Roads Accident.com Facebook page shows a car engulfed in flames on the road shoulder.

It then shows the tunnel’s deluge system activated, before panning to vehicles in the tunnel, which are at a standstill.

SCDF vehicles and personnel can also be seen in the video.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

There have been other vehicle fires in expressway tunnels in the past.

The water sprinklers in the KPE tunnel were activated on Nov 2, 2024, after a car caught fire

. The blaze involved the engine compartment of the car and was extinguished before firefighters arrived.

On July 23, 2024, a car fire, also involving the vehicle’s engine compartment, broke out in the same tunnel.

The tunnel’s sprinkler system helped to contain the flames, which were later fully put out by SCDF personnel with a water jet.