Singapore firefighters successfully extinguished the second major industrial fire accident this week at a multi-material recycling and waste management company in Kranji on Thursday, March 22. It took more than eight hours to quell the warehouse fire.
Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said the fire, which broke out in 11 Kranji Crescent, started at around 2.16 am. At least 70 firefighters were deployed to the location and they eventually brought the fire under control by 6.15 am. The blaze was finally put out at around 10.15 am on Thursday.
SCDF said "Sixteen firefighting appliances and support vehicles and about 70 personnel."
The officials witnessed a buckled zinc roof and smoke-logged surroundings, during their operation. However, there were no reports of casualties.
A resident of the nearby locality, Suresh Kumar told Today that his roommate informed him about the fire incident at around 2 am, as he heard the sound and saw the blaze from the warehouse.
Later, SCDF said in a post that the fire involved piles of waste materials of the warehouse. In a follow-up post at 4.15 am they mentioned that such materials "are typically deep-seated and difficult to be extinguished quickly."
In another social media post at around 5.05 am, SCDF said that their firefighters are facing some challenges at the location "as hot air rises, smoke naturally accumulates underneath the roof. This resulted in a heavily smoke-logged condition within the warehouse, hampering breathing and visibility."
SCDF mentioned that the officials "have to work in teams and move discreetly in combating the deep-seated fire while looking out for each other's safety."
The officials confirmed that the fire has "been well surrounded and confined to an area of approximately 600 square meters."
They also added that the firefighters are conducting damping down operation, which is the application of water to wet burnt surfaces immediately after the fire is put out.
However, it was the second major industrial fire to break out in three days after a sudden oil storage tank, situated at Pulau Busing caught fire on Tuesday, March 20. A total of 128 personnel and 31 fire-fighters, including support vehicles, brought the blaze under control after a six-hour long operation.
