1 dog rescued from Sembawang temple fire, 3 others dead: SCDF

RIP.

Andrew Koay | September 19, 2020, 02:42 PM

An overnight fire at an Admiralty Street temple saw one elderly man conveyed to hospital with breathlessness and no other injuries to humans.

However, some animals housed in the Sembawang God of Wealth Temple were not so lucky.

In response to queries from Mothership, the Singapore Civil Defence Force confirmed they had found the bodies of three dogs in the aftermath of the fire.

They also managed to rescue one dog.

Transport minister and Sembawang MP Ong Ye Kung revealed that the temple kept seven dogs in total.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CFTpDXKsH7g/

Dogs reportedly well-taken care of

The fate of the dogs housed in the temple became a point of concern for some on social media after news of the fire broke.

One social media user wrote that the temple had provided the dogs with a playpen, bed, fan, and water bowl.

She added that she was "sure they are well-taken care of".

Another post on Facebook by Chained Dog Awareness in Singapore (CDAS) wrote that they "genuinely saw love and concern" when speaking to caregivers at the temple.

The animal welfare organisation had visited the temple more than a year ago.

Although the dogs were confined to enclosures in the day, they appeared comfortable in their spaces, and did not choose to step out even when the doors were opened.

They were also allowed to roam the premises at night.

Photo via Chained Dog Awareness in Singapore/Facebook

Photo via Chained Dog Awareness in Singapore/Facebook

CDAS did, however, make an appeal for stricter laws when it comes to the chaining or confining of dogs.

62 Firefighters attended to the incident

According to an SCDF post on Facebook, the fire was confined to the first and second floor of the four-storey temple.

The SCDF was alerted to the incident at 9:15pm on Sep. 18.

62 firefighters attended to the fire, which was eventually put out around midnight before damping down operations began for the next few hours.

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Top image from Melissa Tan's Facebook and David King's Twitter account