| |
SINGAPORE: A major fire at a mosque in eastern Singapore on Tuesday afternoon caused thick plumes of smoke in the Marine Parade Road area, and resulted in a rapid evacuation of more than a hundred people.
Only one person was injured. A man in his 50s was brought to Changi General Hospital following complaints of pains in his shoulder and knee after he fell while trying to escape from the fire.
Police arrested a 14-year-old in connection with the fire at about 3.30pm. He will be charged in the Juvenile Court on Wednesday. If convicted, the youth could be jailed up to seven years and fined.
Many viewers called Channel NewsAsia about the fire at the Kampong Siglap Mosque on Marine Parade Road which broke out just after 2pm.
Eyewitnesses told Channel NewsAsia that the fire was believed to have started in a corner of the prayer hall. When it went out of control, about 150 people in the mosque were evacuated, including 120 pre-schoolers in the kindergarten housed within the same compound.
By the time the Singapore Civil Defence Force's (SCDF) officers arrived, the fire had fully engulfed the rooftop and had threatened to spread to the other sections of the mosque.
The SCDF deployed at least two fire engines before the fire was under control after 45 minutes. They then spent some time cooling down the site with water jets.
Two red rhinos, three support appliances as well as one ambulance were also deployed.
Before the SCDF officers arrived, two people - the mosque's operations manager and a part-time religious teacher - had tried to put out the fire. However, the fire got too big to be put out with the available extinguishers in the mosque.
The road nearest to the mosque, heading towards Bedok South Road, was closed for at least three hours due to the fire.
The fire is believed to have spread from bookshelves on the second level of the main prayer room to the roof, according to Maj Iskandar Mirza, commander of Changi Fire Station.
The roof, measuring 15 by 20 metres, has collapsed in the fire. The Islamic Religious Council (MUIS) said the mosque will be closed until further notice.
The mosque, which has a capacity of 3,000 prayer spaces, also ran pre-school classes for 180 students.
During its closure, MUIS said the congregation can perform their prayers at other mosques nearby. There are four mosques - Abdul Aleem Siddique, Al-Ansar, Mydin and Kassim - located within a two-kilometre radius of the Kampong Siglap mosque.
The staff at the mosque are in touch with parents of the pre-schoolers on alternative arrangements for their children's schooling.
SCDF said the Building and Construction Authority will assess the condition of the building.
- CNA/yb
|
