Kitchen explosion at Maude Road shophouse sparks fire, injures two
The fire was extinguished with a hosereel and fire extinguisher by passers-by.
An explosion in a Maude Road shophouse kitchen on Aug 26 sparked a fire and left a man and a woman injured.
The woman, who appeared to have burn injuries, had her face bandaged before being conveyed to hospital in an ambulance.
A reader, Mr Lu, alerted Shin Min Daily News to the fire at 85 Maude Road. "I didn't see any flames, but I saw one woman with her face bandaged and another man being taken into a separate ambulance."
Photos provided by Mr Lu show a police car parked at a junction at Maude Road, with officers standing nearby.
When Shin Min's reporters arrived, the fire had already been extinguished, but the shophouse remained cordoned off. A melted plastic curtain could be seen in the kitchen, and a fire hose and extinguisher appeared to have been used to fight the blaze.
Several members of the public who were at the scene said that police had briefly cordoned off the road.
First-floor cafe closed down prior to fire
After the police cordon was lifted, two men believed to be the shop owners entered the premises to inspect the situation. When approached by reporters, they declined to provide details.
A nearby shop owner told reporters they had heard an explosion and initially thought it was a car accident. He added that the unit used to house a cafe that shuttered a few months ago.
"It was closed for about a month, but in the last few weeks, I did see people inside. I'm not sure if it was open for business," he said.
According to a report by The Straits Times, a cafe called Cofreely was previously a tenant at 85 Maude Road, but closed down in June.
A Google Maps search also showed that the second floor of the building houses three interior design companies.
Cause of fire under investigation
In response to queries from The New Paper, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it was alerted to the fire at 7.30pm.
Members of the public extinguished the blaze using a hosereel and a fire extinguisher prior to SCDF's arrival.
SCDF also confirmed that the fire involved items from a kitchen on the first floor of a two-storey shophouse.
One person was conveyed to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, and another to Singapore General Hospital.
"The cause of the fire is under investigation," said an SCDF spokesperson.