Residents evacuated after fire breaks out at Ubi coffee shop

SINGAPORE: Residents of a Housing Board block in Ubi were evacuated late Friday (May 30) after a fire broke out, with some people reporting an explosion.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) was alerted at 11.35pm to the fire at Block 301 Ubi Avenue 1, which involved the contents of a food stall in a coffee shop on the first floor.

The fire was extinguished by SCDF using two water jets, and a few other stalls also sustained heat and smoke damage.

One person was assessed for smoke inhalation and taken to the hospital. 

Member of Parliament of Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC Faishal Ibrahim said in a Facebook post that the fire was put out swiftly by SCDF. More than 70 residents were evacuated as a precaution.

A resident, who identified herself as Ms Ng, said her flat was hit by a blackout at about 11.45pm.  

She told CNA: "We felt calm because we didn’t see any flames, we just saw a big cloud of smoke coming from the coffeeshop area."

“Before the explosion, we already heard the siren.”

Another resident, Mr Zulkifli, said he was in his kitchen when he smelled the smoke. 

"When I went down, there was still no fire. Shortly after, there was a small fire, and a big fire, and then an explosion. The whole block tripped after that," he said.

Residents at Touch Ubi hostel, a residential training hostel for adults with mild intellectual disabilities located near the coffee shop, were evacuated as well. 

Ms Irene Nant, a hostel employee, said there were three care staff members and six residents at the hostel.

She said the residents were woken up by care staff at 11.45pm and the emergency light in the room was switched on. Smoke was also spotted outside the hostel.

Said Ms Nant: “The safety of our clients is the first priority and I felt scared and worried.”

“We’re feeling relieved that we got all our clients downstairs. At least we’re all safe,” she added.

At about 1.40am, some residents were told by SCDF that they could return to their flats, and unit numbers were read out. 

According to a volunteer of the Residents Network at Ubi Block 318, Mr Shawn Ho, those living on the second floor directly above the coffeeshop would have to wait for a longer time before being allowed to return to their unit.

Alternatively, they could sleep at the Greenville Residents Network at Block 318.

Assoc Prof Faishal was at the scene after he was alerted to the incident close to midnight. 

"These are my residents and I think given the opportunity to come and also help out to meet their needs, it’s very critical," he said.

"I’m thankful to the grassroots leaders, the police, SCDF for coming in quickly to ensure things are safe and the situation is taken care of," he added.

SCDF said that the cause of the fire is under investigation.