SINGAPORE – Firefighters from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) are currently battling a fire at a warehouse at 28 Tuas South Avenue 8.
In a Facebook post on Monday, SCDF said it was alerted to the fire at about 6.15pm and that, upon arrival, the fire was raging inside the warehouse.
The warehouse is connected to an industrial building, said SCDF.
It added that firefighters are fighting the fire with six water jets and an unmanned firefighting machine.
“In view of the ongoing fire operation, members of the public are advised to avoid the area,” SCDF said.
Migrant workers staying in the nearby dormitories said they detected an acrid smell from about 6.30pm.
Mr Nebaron Bormon Komol, 42, a worker from Bangladesh, said he could see the smoke from almost 2km away at Tuas South Ave 4.
A video of the fire that he took at about 7.30pm showed thick black smoke billowing from the compound.
Another worker, who wanted to be known only as Mr Aminul, 49, from Bangladesh, said he was worried when he saw the large cloud of smoke, but came out of his dormitory nearby and headed towards the scene instead of away from it.
He said: “The smell was strong, but later the wind blew it away.
“I was quite scared, but I wanted to see what was happening.”
At about 9pm, flames could still be seen from the middle floors of the building.
https://www.facebook.com/SCDFpage/posts/588186863355653
Checks by The Straits Times online showed that the site is listed by manufacturer Sika Singapore as its head office. The company is a subsidiary of Sika AG, a speciality chemical company based in Switzerland that supplies the building and construction industry as well as manufacturing industries.
Videos on social media showed plumes of black smoke billowing from a blaze on the lower floors of a building that looks to be more than two storeys high.
https://www.facebook.com/jailani.shakespeare/videos/591786392968223/
Another video shows the fire engulfing the building.
https://www.facebook.com/100074752845201/videos/227437923087152/
In an earlier Facebook post at 6.54pm, SCDF said firefighters were fighting the fire with two water jets and a ground monitor.
“This is expected to be an extended firefighting operation,” SCDF said.
SCDF added at 7.19pm that it had warned members of the public to avoid the area by sending a message through the SMS Public Alert System and the SGSecure app.
This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.
