100 people evacuated after fire breaks out at hawker centre in Whampoa; no one hurt
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The fire appeared to have been put out by about 4.40pm, according to photos circulating online.
PHOTO: ALAN SOH/FACEBOOK
SINGAPORE – A fire broke out at a hawker centre in Whampoa on the afternoon of June 19.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it was alerted to the fire at Whampoa Makan Place at 90 Whampoa Drive at 4.10pm that day.
The fire involved the kitchen exhaust ducting of a stall on the ground floor, said SCDF. The blaze was put out by SCDF with two water jets and a hosereel.
It added that together with the police, it evacuated about 100 people from the premises as a precaution. There were no reported injuries.
SCDF reminded members of the public, and especially stallholders, to prevent kitchen exhaust duct fires by keeping the stove, its surrounding areas and the opening of the exhaust ducts free from grease and oil stains.
Exhaust ducts should also be cleaned and maintained at least once a year, it added.
Videos circulating on social media at around 4.15pm show smoke billowing from the hawker centre in Whampoa Drive, with SCDF emergency vehicles arriving on site.
In a video uploaded on Xiaohongshu, bright orange flames can be seen emerging from an exhaust duct.
Another video, on Facebook, shows the fire rising above the roof of the building. The fire was still raging at about 4.15pm, according to the timestamp on the video.
The fire appeared to have been put out by about 4.40pm, based on photos circulating online.
When The Straits Times arrived at about 5pm, SCDF firefighters and paramedics were still at the scene. Damping-down operations appeared to be under way.
An SCDF emergency vehicle at Whampoa Makan Place after a fire started at a hawker stall on the afternoon of June 19.
ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR
The hawker centre was cordoned off, with several curious onlookers gathered nearby.
Teo Yong Bak, who runs a newly opened curry puff stall in the hawker centre, said he saw the exhaust pipe above a satay stall catch fire.
“I saw so much smoke and ran away,” he told ST.
In a video shared with ST, two men are seen trying to put out the fire with a hose.
Teo, 56, said that the owner of a drinks stall had asked diners to help extinguish the flames.
Jalan Besar GRC MP Shawn Loh said in a Facebook post later on June 19 that he was thankful that no one was hurt.
He added that SCDF put out the fire within half an hour.
“We will need to investigate the fire and reopen the market only once everything is okay,” Loh said.
Jalan Besar Town Council will assess the damage and carry out reinstatement works over the next few days so that operations can resume, he said.
He added that the National Environment Agency (NEA) will provide help to affected stallholders.
“Incidents like this remind us of the importance of looking out for one another. One fire is one fire too many,” Loh said.
ST has contacted the town council and NEA for more information.
Additional reporting by Ariffin Jamar
