Firefighters inch through rubble of heated metal to put out blaze engulfing Jurong warehouse

Lim Min Zhang
The Straits Times
Mar 9, 2020

A fire that has been raging for hours broke out at a warehouse in an industrial area near Jurong River on Monday night (March 9). No injuries were reported.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said in a Facebook post on Monday (March 9) that it was alerted to the fire at No. 18 Jalan Besut at about 8.10pm.

Firefighting operations were still being carried out as of 11pm but they managed to control the fire then. Even so, prolonged overnight firefighting operations were expected, said SCDF.

More than 50 occupants had evacuated themselves from the premises before firefighters arrived.

(Video from Stomper Lynn)

SCDF said that the fire involved the contents of the warehouse, such as plywood, household electrical appliances and furniture, among other things.

When firefighters arrived at the scene, the fire had fully engulfed the warehouse.

They initially mitigated the fire with seven water jets, two ground monitors and two unmanned firefighting machines.

A 30-second video in an SCDF tweet shows firefighters in action, using water jets to contain the blaze.

“Due to the intense heat of the fire, the warehouse’s zinc roof had completely collapsed, trapping the fire underneath it and hindering the firefighters’ immediate access to the seat of the fire,” SCDF said later.

“Having surrounded the fire, the firefighters are inching their way through the rubble of heated metal to extinguish the fire.”

Netizens reported seeing thick black smoke and the raging fire from places like Teban Gardens and Jurong East.