Fire at Kranji recycling warehouse finally extinguished after 4 days

A fire that broke out at a recycling centre's warehouse in Kranji on Feb 19 has been extinguished after a four-day battle, said the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) on Feb 23.

Firefighters worked "round the clock" to douse the "deep-seated pockets" of flame that remained within the waste heaps, said the SCDF on Facebook.

The fight to contain the blaze at 11 Kranji Crescent - listed online as the address of recycling firm Wah & Hua - began around 10.30am on Feb 19.

Six water jets, four unmanned firefighting machines, an aerial vehicle and a combined platform ladder were dispatched at the height of the operation. The fire was largely put out by 7pm that day. SGSecure app users and M1, StarHub and Singtel mobile subscribers in the vicinity of the ignition involving waste materials received alerts to steer clear of the area at the time.

SCDF is now "scaling down" its deployed resources, though a fire engine and crew will stay at the premises to keep watch.

SCDF will progressively hand over the site to the owner for recovery operations, it added.

The fire is the fourth at the address since 2018, after blazes in March 2018, June 2023 and March 2024, said SCDF on Feb 21.

The facility was cited seven times for fire safety violations between 2018 and 2024, it added.

In the same period, the SCDF had inspected the place 10 times and determined that the three fires were accidental, caused by smouldering embers or the spontaneous ignition of waste.

In the latest blaze on Feb 19, one person was taken to hospital for burn injuries and smoke inhalation.

The metal roof in the single-storey warehouse and part of the roof of a two-storey office building had collapsed in the conflagration.

The Building and Construction Authority on Feb 21 said it had ordered the owner to close off access to the affected structures.

The National Environment Agency and the SCDF have opened an investigation into the fire, which will decide whether enforcement action should be taken against the owner.