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A major fire broke out at an industrial area along Tuas on Friday afternoon, Jan. 21.

In a Facebook video posted by Shin Min Daily News (SMDN), thick plumes of smoke could be seen billowing out of a compound as the fire raged on.

S$1 million loss

According to SMDN, the product and sales manager of the company that occupies the premise, TT Energy, said that the fire is believed to have started from a diesel storage tank at the factory's unloading zone.

The flammable liquid then spread to other areas of the facility through the storage area's drainage.

Three workers had attempted to put out the fire with fire extinguishers, but to little avail.

The fire is estimated to have burnt through almost 70 per cent of the storage facility, resulting in a loss of approximately S$1 million.

20 emergency vehicles and 70 firefighters deployed

According to a Facebook post by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), it was alerted to the fire at 5 Gul Lane at about 2:50pm on Jan. 21.

A total of 20 emergency vehicles and about 70 firefighters were deployed to the scene.

SCDF described the fire to be "about the size of a football field".

Resources were immediately deployed to surround and contain the fire upon arrival, as it was raging intensely and threatening to spread along the drain surrounding the premises, said SCDF.

At the height of the firefighting operation, seven water jets, including an Unmanned Firefighting Machine (UFM) were used to mitigate the fire.

As the fire had involved drums containing flammable liquid and industrial chemicals, foam was also used to cover or blanket the surface of the flammable liquids.

Damping down operations were carried out to prevent any potential rekindling of the fire from the hot burnt surfaces.

The fire was extinguished at about 3:30pm, about 50 minutes later.

One person conveyed to hospital

According to SCDF, one person was conveyed to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital for burn injuries on his forearm following the incident.

There were no other reported injuries.

About 40 workers had self-evacuated before SCDF’s arrival.

SCDF added that the cause of the fire is currently under investigation.

You can find the full Facebook post here:

Top images via SMDN Facebook and SCDF Facebook