The SCDF was alerted at about 2am to the blaze, which covered an area of roughly a football field, at 11 Tuas Link 1. - SINGAPORE CIVIL DEFENCE FORCE/FACEBOOK
SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/Asia News Network): A fire at an industrial building storing chemicals in Tuas was brought under control by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) on Wednesday (July 5) morning.
It was alerted at about 2am to the blaze, which covered an area of roughly a football field, at 11 Tuas Link 1. It dispatched 30 emergency vehicles and about 100 firefighters from two stations and a special rescue unit.
The building is occupied by Megachem, a wholesaler and distributor of speciality chemicals. The SCDF said chemicals were stored on the premises, but did not reveal the possible cause of the fire.
The flames were brought under control at around 6.15am with five water and foam jets and two unmanned firefighting machines. Firefighters then conducted damping down operations to prevent the fire restarting.
The SCDF said one firefighter was taken to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital after he experienced giddiness during the operation. He was later discharged in a stable condition.
The public were advised to avoid the area.
Train services between the Tuas Link and Tuas West Road stations on the East-West MRT line were suspended on Wednesday for nearly two hours. They resumed at around 7.20am.
A man who works in a building adjacent to Megachem’s premises said he had to alter his usual commute to work.
“I came to work at around 7.30am and I could still see black smoke from the factory. But the roads were already cordoned off and I had to go by another route to get to work,” said the Malaysian factory worker who wanted to be known only as Lim. “By 8am, we could see the smoke dissipating.”
Another man, who wanted to be known as Ahmad and works in pharmaceutical company MSD located just a street away, said: “I could detect a weird burning chemical smell. It stings a bit.”
