Two fires in one day at Boat Quay pubs
A fire broke out at The Penny Black on Thursday (July 28) morning.
At 10am, the first fire broke out at the pub at 27 Boat Quay.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) arrived within 20 minutes and put it out.
Employees at the next-door Harry's bar had to be evacuated and it had to close later.
The Penny Black's owner, Mr Bjorn Seegerd, told The New Paper (TNP) the fire was caused by a mechanical fault in their deep fryer.
Seven employees were at the pub at the time. One member of the kitchen staff was treated for a minor burn injury.
Shortly after the SCDF left at around 11.30am, a second fire broke out at 28 Boat Quay, Harry's Bar.
Most of the fire crew from the first fire ended up returning for the second fire.
This time the fire also affected the McDonald's outlet behind Harry's.
It is not known if anyone was injured in that fire.
When TNP arrived at 1.40pm, an eyewitness at the nearby construction site, Mr Bayazid Miah, told TNP the second fire occurred at around noon.
The SCDF returned to the scene barely half an hour after they left.
In a Facebook post, the SCDF said the second fire was caused by "deep seated burning of an internal duct within the void ("attic crawl space") of the roof".
McDonald's, Harry's and The Penny Black have been cordoned off.
The lunch crowd in the busy Boat Quay area is being redirected by the police to avoid the affected area.
McDonald's and Harry's employees have also evacuated their restaurants.
An employee at the nearby TCC cafe told TNP the cafe has stopped serving customers and will resume service only after getting police approval.
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