Fire guts Jurong West wet market, coffee shop

SINGAPORE — In a matter of hours, a coffee shop and wet market in Jurong West that had been around for 30 years were gutted by a blaze that broke out early Tuesday (Oct 11) morning, sparking an evacuation of some 300 residents from their homes. 

The fire caused part of the roof of the wet market to collapse, while the exterior side wall of another coffee shop in a neighbouring block was damaged. 

About 45 affected stall operators — some of whom have operated there for a decade — may have to work at an alternative site. 

The wet market and coffee shop at Block 493 on Jurong West Street 41 were “completely engulfed in flames” when firefighters arrived at the scene, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said on its Facebook page. It was alerted to the blaze at about 2.45am. 

The police and SCDF personnel evacuated residents from the surrounding blocks, but one woman in her 60s had difficulty breathing during the evacuation and was taken to hospital, the SCDF said. She is now in a stable condition.

The fire was eventually put out by 4.15am, and residents were allowed to return to their homes hours later. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Madam Noorlin Rahman, who runs a stall at Block 494’s 24-hour coffee shop, said the fire started small. “Then it led to explosions because the market had two fridges. And by then, it was beyond control,” she added. Some dishes at her stall had to be thrown away later because they were covered in soot.

The Member of Parliament for Jurong ward, Mr Ang Wei Neng, said that although stall operators have been told they could immediately rent vacant stalls elsewhere from the National Environment Agency, some have indicated their preference to operate nearby. 

“Now we are actively exploring a possible alternate site for them, if there is a demand,” Mr Ang said. This means setting up a temporary wet market and hawker centre at the new basketball court in front of Block 498, which was built in July.

The visibly upset stall operators who spoke to TODAY said they were undecided on their plans, but they were open to the idea of relocating to the temporary site. 

The Building and Construction Authority said in a statement that the building structure at Block 493 remains stable, even though its roof structure had partially collapsed.

For Block 494, even though the fire had caused damage to the coffee shop there and part of the timber roof structure, as well as part of the adjacent covered linkways, the block’s structural integrity and its upper floors were not affected by the fire. 

However, in the interest of public safety, it told the owners of the affected buildings to cordon off the affected areas and to appoint a professional engineer to investigate further and recommend permanent rectification works. 

Block 493, the coffee shop at Block 494 and the damaged parts of the adjacent covered linkways have to be closed until detailed investigations by the professional engineer are done and rectification works have been carried out, it added.