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Marsiling Teochew Fish Soup, a hawker stall located in Marsiling Lane Food Centre, was engulfed in a fire on Thursday (May 11) morning.
A video showcasing the fiery fire has also been circulating online.
Video via Shin Min Daily News
According to the footage, a man in green, who was later identified to be the chairman of the Marsiling Merchants’ and Hawkers’ Association, tried to put out the fire with a fire extinguisher.
The fire had also caused the neighbouring areas of the hawker centre to be enveloped in dark smoke.
Video via Jonas De Thuong/Facebook
What happened
When Shin Min Daily News arrived at the scene of the incident, the exhaust duct of the fish soup stall had already been severely damaged by the fire.
Around 20 stalls were forced to cease operations temporarily as they shared the duct with the fish soup stall.
According to the owner of the fish soup stall, a 60-year-old male stall assistant was frying eggs at the stall when the stove suddenly caught fire before spreading to the exhaust duct.
"Upon noticing the exhaust duct was engulfed in fire, the stall assistant immediately evacuated from the stall after turning off the gas," the owner said.
However, the stall assistant still sustained mild burn injuries and was hospitalised.
SCDF statement
In response to Mothership's queries, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) confirmed that they were alerted to a fire at Blk 20 Marsiling Lane on Thursday at about 8:20am.
The fire involved the contents of a kitchen exhaust duct system in a hawker centre.
SCDF was able to extinguish the fire using a water jet.
About 40 people self-evacuated before SCDF arrived, and a person was conveyed to Singapore General Hospital for burn injuries.
Preliminary investigation indicates that the fire had originated from the stove area in one of the fire-affected stalls.
Town Council will assist affected stalls: Zaqy Mohamad
A number of stall owners also told Shin Min that they would not be able to run their businesses for at least a week as a result of the fire, and their daily losses could be in the thousands.
In response to the incident, Zaqy Mohamad, MP for Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC, shared in a Facebook post that the Marsiling-Yew Tee Town Council team will be assisting with the replacement of trunking cables and exhaust duct.
It will also help with cleaning up the affected area so that the majority of the stalls can resume operations soon.
Nevertheless, the replacement and repair works for the most affected stalls may still take a few weeks to complete.
Zaqy said that he also met some of the affected stallholders on Thursday and assured them that his team will do its best to assist them with their various needs and seek relief, as well as assistance, from the relevant agencies.
Top images via Shin Min Daily News & Jonas De Thuong/Facebook