About 100 residents of an HDB block in Boon Keng were evacuated after a fire broke out at a coffee shop shortly after midnight on Thursday, December 4.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said that it received an alert at around 12.30 am regarding the incident at Block 11 Upper Boon Keng Road.
When firefighters arrived, they found the kitchen exhaust duct of the coffee shop ablaze. Several food stalls suffered heat and smoke damage. SCDF officers extinguished the fire using two water jets. One person was assessed for smoke inhalation and taken to Singapore General Hospital, the agency said.
According to reports, a strong burnt smell was in the air and the residents said that they woke up to the odour and quickly left their units as the smoke intensified.
Sales manager Kaliraj, 38, recalled stepping outside to find thick smoke rising up the building. "When we came out, it was already very smoky, the fire was up to the third, fourth floor," he said. "So, we asked the neighbours to evacuate."
Residents were allowed to return to their homes at around 3.30 am after authorities confirmed that the block was safe.
AsiaOne reported that the blaze likely began at the zi char stall in the coffee shop before spreading through the kitchen exhaust duct. Several stallholders affected by the incident were seen outside the premises early in the morning, visibly worried as they assessed the damage.
One stallholder, who wanted to be known only as Chew, 40, said firefighters had woken him up. By the time he realised what was happening, the four other coffee shop employees living with him had already evacuated. He added that he suffered scald injuries to his hands while attempting to retrieve items from his stall.
SCDF said the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
According to SCDF's annual statistics report released on February 13, the number of fires in Singapore rose slightly from 1,954 cases in 2023 to 1,990 in 2024. The increase was attributed mainly to more incidents at commercial, social, and communal premises. Fire-related deaths also climbed from three in 2023 to five last year.
