Nearly 300 residents were evacuated on Tuesday after a fire broke out at the market and coffee shop at Block 493, Jurong West Street 41.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said that it immediately dispatched three fire engines, four red rhinos, seven support vehicles and four ambulances at the site to control the fire.
According to the Straits Times, the SCDF posted on Facebook that it was informed about the fire at Jurong West Street at about 2.45am.
The officials said both the wet market and coffee shop were completely engulfed in flames. Firefighters also faced challenge while dousing the flames. They had to surround the fire with six water jets and deployed an aerial monitor from a Combined Platform Ladder.
"At the height of the fire, the roof of the wet market collapsed and the exterior side wall of a coffee shop at Blk 494, which was directly facing the raging blaze, sustained fire damage," added SCDF, as reported by the news agency.
The fire was finally extinguished at around 4.15am. There was also no report of casualty, however, an elderly woman faced breathing troubles and was admitted to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital.
SCDF has ordered a probe and the cause of fire is being investigated.
According to Straits Times, Jurong GRC MP Ang Wei Neng, who visited the scene told reporters that affected stall owners are being helped to set up their business in somewhere else or to operate from elsewhere.
"The wet market's building structure does not appear to be safe, so it will take a while before they can access the area. The two coffee shops adjacent to the market are also unlikely to operate for now," he added.
Several eyewitnesses gave vivid accounts of the mishap.
Tan Cheng Koy (70), a retiree who lives in the corner unit of Block 494, told the daily that he was in his bedroom watching television when he heard the firemen.
"I opened my window to see what was happening, and there was a lot of smoke. Smoke was coming in through my kitchen window. Our vision was almost completely blurred. We immediately ran out," he said.
Tan and his family returned home safely only after 10 am. "The floor is still hot now. And the small window in my bedroom has shattered from the heat of the flames," he added
Channel News Asia reported that a woman, who stayed at Block 499, said that she heard loud explosions between 2.30am and 2.40am and went to close the window and saw thick black smoke engulfing the entire place. She was also evacuated from her home by the police for safety measures.
