Overheating wok causes fire at Telok Blangah hawker centre, 12 stalls affected

Submitted by Stomper Gary, Edros

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A fire broke out at a hawker centre in Telok Blangah on Monday morning (Feb 11).

Stompers Gary and Edros alerted Stomp to the incident and shared a video of the scene that has been circulating online.

In the video, the fire appears to have started at a hawker stall which sells fish cakes.

(Story continues after video)

https://www.facebook.com/singaporeIncidents/videos/325843781373712/

Flames can be seen coming from the stall and travelling up through the exhaust duct.

The fire then spreads further along the exhaust duct hanging above the hawker centre's dining tables.

Diners are seen quickly evacuating the area as firefighters and civilians work to put out the flames.

At least 12 stalls were affected after the gas supply was cut as a result of the fire, reports Shin Min Daily News.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) told The Straits Times that it responded to the fire at 11 Telok Blangah Crescent at about 9.08am.

The fire involved a wok in a hawker stall, the SCDF said. No injuries were reported.

The first firefighter who arrived at the scene tried to extinguish flames coming from a partially covered wok with water.

However, when the flames grew bigger he used a dry powder fire extinguisher and compressed air foam backpack to put them out.

He was later assisted by arriving SCDF officers.

The SCDF said that preliminary fire investigation revealed that the fire was due to overheating.

The stall owner, Mr Zhang Chuanrong, 35, told Shin Min that he was cleaning up his stall and preparing for Tuesday's business when the fire started.

Mr Zhang said he was heating oil when it overheated and the stove did not turn off automatically. This caused sparks to appear.

His stall had been closed the last few days and there were not many ingredients in the premises, Mr Zhang added, saying that his estimated losses from the fire were not major.