Firefighters battle hours-long Kranji warehouse blaze; one person taken to hospital

SINGAPORE: Firefighters battled a blaze at a Kranji warehouse for hours on Wednesday (Feb 19), deploying unmanned equipment to navigate the unstable structure.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it responded to the fire at 11 Kranji Crescent at about 10.30am, adding that it involved waste materials in a warehouse measuring about 50m by 50m. 

The address is occupied by recycling and waste management firm Wah & Hua. This is the third reported fire at the location since 2018. 

One person was taken to hospital for smoke inhalation and burn injuries.

SCDF earlier said that the firefighting operation was expected to be prolonged.

The fire was later brought under control by 4pm. Unmanned equipment was deployed to the scene as the structure of the premises was assessed to be unstable.

In an update at about 7pm, SCDF said the blaze was "largely extinguished" with some deep-seated pockets of fire remaining. Operations are expected to continue through the night. 

"At the height of the operation, six water jets, four unmanned firefighting machines and a Combined Platform Ladder were deployed to contain the fire," it added.

SCDF earlier advised the public to stay away from the area, noting that SGSecure mobile app users, M1, StarHub and Singtel mobile subscribers within the vicinity of the fire would have received an alert.

AMBULANCES, FIRE ENGINES

When CNA arrived at the scene at 2.45pm, both sides of the road leading to the warehouse were cordoned off with police tape.

There were more than seven SCDF fire engines and at least two ambulances. Another fire engine arrived at the scene at 3.35pm.

A food and rehabilitation area with chairs, snacks and drinks for firefighters and other staff was set up. 

Seven workers from Wah & Hua were seated under a tree nearby waiting for transportation. One worker said he had been out for a job in the morning and later returned to the building on fire.

A construction worker from engineering company Shingda, whose building is opposite the warehouse, said many workers were told to leave early. 

About 20 construction workers from DA engineering, located at a building close to the fire, were waiting in a field opposite the warehouse.

They had been instructed to vacate the building at 2.50pm.

BLACK SMOKE

A CNA reader who was at the nearby Carros Centre saw several SCDF officers and vehicles on the scene as thick, black smoke billowed from the site.

Mr Jeffery Tan said that while the fire did not affect the Carros Centre along Jalan Lam Huat, he noted a slight smell of rubbish or turpentine. 

Mr Tan, who works as a radio access network engineer, said he had attempted to do a microwave site survey but the smoke blocked the line of sight for photo-taking purposes. 

Other photos taken by CNA readers showed that smoke from the blaze could also be seen from areas such as Jurong East, Bukit Panjang, Woodlands and the Causeway.

Mr Stanley Tan saw black smoke in the distance from Woods Square in Woodlands at about 12.30pm while Mr Pek Boon Hua captured footage of the large plume at about 2pm from his flat in Teban Gardens.

Additional reporting by Charmaine Jacob