November 29, 2019, 12:49 PM
Bright orange flames have been spotted burning for hours since Wednesday, Nov. 27, in the west side of Singapore.
Images and videos on Twitter
Several Twitter users shared their concerns regarding the fire, seemingly in the Jurong area, which had been burning for hours past midnight.
Is this a huge #fire near #jurong ?????? Does anyone in #Singapore know what's going on??? pic.twitter.com/8spmePLO3j
— Michelle Schirpa, MA (@mschirpa) November 27, 2019
https://twitter.com/Rovsir/status/1200036095154520070
The burning flames could be seen from afar, by several residents living in the west side of Singapore.
Photo via Julia Yeo
Photo via Ashley Tan
The flames were spotted burning on top of a tall structure around Jurong for hours, even past 1am.
Turned out to be industrial combustion process
According to The Straits Times (ST), the police were not alerted to the burning, and no assistance was required from the Singapore Civil Defence Force.
The cause of the glare is believed to be an industrial flaring process on Jurong Island.
According to the ExxonMobil website, flares are safety devices used in refineries and petrochemical facilities, where hydrocarbon gases are burnt in the flare systems.
This is a more environmentally-sound alternative than releasing the vapour directly into the atmosphere.
Screen shot from ExxonMobil website.
"The use of flares is minimised to the extent that is possible. However, flaring can occur during a start-up and shut-down of any of our facilities for maintenance, and also during unplanned operational interruptions such as power outages," the website states.
Mothership has contacted the National Environment Agency to provide more information about the flaring occurrence.
Top image via Julia Yeo, Ashley Tan
If you like what you read, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Telegram to get the latest updates.