Fire engulfs Bishan coffeeshop in midnight blaze
She was in her kitchen on Monday night when she got a strong burning smell.
Madam Tan (who did not want to give her full name) looked out of her kitchen window in Bishan and saw thick black smoke obscuring Sky Habitat, a condominium she usually sees clearly from her flat in Block 501.
"The smoke smell was very strong," the 35-year-old IT analyst told The New Paper yesterday.
She went to investigate, and saw officers from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) trying to put out the blaze at a coffee shop, Gourmet Express Food House, in Block 514A, Bishan Street 13.
"It's a shame for the coffee shop to go up in flames like this," she said.
The SCDF said it was alerted to the fire at about 11.05pm. TNP understands that the blaze was put out by 11.20pm with two water jets.
INJURIES
TNP understands that two men were taken to Singapore General Hospital, one for first-degree burns and another for smoke inhalation.
Of the nine stalls at the coffee shop, three were severely damaged.
When TNP visited the coffee shop at 10am yesterday, about a dozen coffeeshop workers were sitting outside. No clean-up operation was underway yet.
Mr Huang Tian Fu, the owner of the coffee shop, said the losses were difficult to calculate, reported Lianhe Wanbao yesterday. He added that repair work may cost thousands of dollars and that did not include loss of earnings.
A worker from a noodles stall, who did not want to be named, told TNP in Mandarin: "With the coffeeshop damaged like this, there's no way I can work today."
Another resident, Ms Jennie Kang, 41, who lives in Sky Vue condominium, said she had just come out of the shower on Monday night when she heard ambulances. "We often get food from the coffee shop, so it's an inconvenience," Ms Kang said.
The cause of fire is under investigation.
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