Structure of industrial building assessed as unstable after blaze

Fire led to evacuation of office workers in the vicinity and students in nearby school

- Sarah Koh, Ng Keng Gene, Andrew Wong and Stacey Ngiam

A fire broke out in a building in Tampines on May 9, with dense black smoke forcing the evacuation of office workers as well as students in a nearby school.

In a Facebook post, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it was alerted to the fire at a three-storey industrial building at 18 Tampines Street 92 at around 12.50pm.

The fire involved textile items in the building, said the SCDF, adding that five water jets, an aerial monitor from a combined platform ladder, and an unmanned firefighting machine were deployed.

"The fire is under control, but the structure of the premises is assessed to be unstable," it said.

In an update at about 4.35pm, it said the flames had been largely extinguished, adding that some "deep-seated pockets of fire" remained.

Damping down operations, which include efforts to extinguish those pockets of fire within the premises, were expected to continue into the night.

Damping down refers to the application of water to burnt surfaces immediately after a fire is put out.