SINGAPORE - A fire broke out at a coffee shop in a block of Housing Board flats at Jurong West Avenue 1 on Saturday (March 5) afternoon.

Photos sent in by a Straits Times reader appeared to show a fire burning in Block 442's exhaust ducts.

It started at around 3.30pm at the low-rise block, according to student Regan Chew, who sent photos and a video of the flames to ST' via Twitter.

The 16-year-old said: "I was busy watching a movie when I smelt something burning. At first, I thought it was the smell of car exhaust. As time progressed, the smell got worse; I walked to my window and... that's when I saw the fire."

When he called the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) for help, they told him that the fire had already been reported, he said.

"About three minutes after the call, the fire engine came and they extinguished the fire within minutes," Chew added.

SCDF said it received a call about the fire at 3.35pm. The fire involved the "contents of a stall in a coffee shop" and was extinguished using two water jets.

There were no casualties, but 14 residents were evacuated from higher floors. SCDF sent two fire engines, a Red Rhino, one ambulance and one supporting vehicle to the scene.