Fire breaks out in Little India shophouse; no injuries reported

SINGAPORE - A fire broke out at a two-storey shophouse in Little India on Feb 3, damaging neighbouring shops and a car.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said in a Facebook post that the interior of the unit at 31 Norris Road was engulfed in flames that later spread to adjacent shophouses, causing heat and smoke damage.

Firefighters were alerted at 11.15am, and extinguished the fire within an hour using three water jets.

They covered a car that was parked in front of the shophouse with a fire blanket, but it was also damaged by the blaze.

A combined platform ladder was deployed to assess and monitor the incident from the air.

There were no reported injuries, and the cause of the fire is still under investigation, said the SCDF.

In footage of the fire posted to Facebook page Truly SG on Feb 3, plumes of thick smoke could be seen billowing from the windows of the shop, which appeared to be a massage parlour, and its two neighbouring units.

About five police officers were also seen outside the burning unit, with some holding fire extinguishers.

When The Straits Times arrived at the scene around 1pm, a police cordon had been set up. As at 3pm, the area remained cordoned off to the public.

Mr Ankush Sharma, who works at Khansama Tandoori Restaurant just down the road from the fire-hit unit, told ST that he saw people running away in panic.

“There were many people around, and everyone started running away. Some were very scared. The police helped to guide them to safety,” the 36-year-old supervisor said.

Mr Ankush called the SCDF when he spotted the fire. He noticed police officers from the nearby Rochor Neighbourhood Police Centre rushing to the scene with fire extinguishers shortly after that.

He also saw nurses from a nearby dialysis centre evacuating patients in wheelchairs.