Major fire causes 150 to evacuate; mosque to close till
further notice
SINGAPORE: A major fire at a mosque in eastern Singapore
on Tuesday afternoon caused thick plumes of smoke in the Marine
Parade Road area, and resulted in a rapid evacuation of more than a
hundred people.
Only one person was injured. A man in his 50s was brought to Changi
General Hospital following complaints of pains in his shoulder and
knee after he fell while trying to escape from the fire.
Police arrested a 14-year-old in connection with the fire at about
3.30pm. He will be charged in the Juvenile Court on Wednesday. If
convicted, the youth could be jailed up to seven years and
fined.
Many viewers called Channel NewsAsia about the fire at the Kampong
Siglap Mosque on Marine Parade Road which broke out just after
2pm.
Eyewitnesses told Channel NewsAsia that the fire was believed to
have started in a corner of the prayer hall. When it went out of
control, about 150 people in the mosque were evacuated, including
120 pre-schoolers in the kindergarten housed within the same
compound.
By the time the Singapore Civil Defence Force's (SCDF) officers
arrived, the fire had fully engulfed the rooftop and had threatened
to spread to the other sections of the mosque.
The SCDF deployed at least two fire engines before the fire was
under control after 45 minutes. They then spent some time cooling
down the site with water jets.
Two red rhinos, three support appliances as well as one ambulance
were also deployed.
Before the SCDF officers arrived, two people - the mosque's
operations manager and a part-time religious teacher - had tried to
put out the fire. However, the fire got too big to be put out with
the available extinguishers in the mosque.
The road nearest to the mosque, heading towards Bedok South Road,
was closed for at least three hours due to the fire.
The fire is believed to have spread from bookshelves on the second
level of the main prayer room to the roof, according to Maj
Iskandar Mirza, commander of Changi Fire Station.
The roof, measuring 15 by 20 metres, has collapsed in the fire. The
Islamic Religious Council (MUIS) said the mosque will be closed
until further notice.
The mosque, which has a capacity of 3,000 prayer spaces, also ran
pre-school classes for 180 students.
During its closure, MUIS said the congregation can perform their
prayers at other mosques nearby. There are four mosques - Abdul
Aleem Siddique, Al-Ansar, Mydin and Kassim - located within a
two-kilometre radius of the Kampong Siglap mosque.
The staff at the mosque are in touch with parents of the
pre-schoolers on alternative arrangements for their children's
schooling.
SCDF said the Building and Construction Authority will assess the
condition of the building.
- CNA/yb
LOL this one is opp VS~...
No wonder all moi VS fwends were like twittering at
3p.m
