About 20 people were evacuated from a Thai restaurant after a fire broke out on Mar. 20 in a karaoke lounge above it on the second floor at 58A Serangoon Garden Way.

The fire was suspected to have been caused by a short circuit, according to the owner of the karaoke lounge.

Responding to queries from Mothership, the Singapore Civil Defence Force said they were alerted to the fire at about 8:50pm.

The fire involved the contents of a room, and was extinguished using a water jet.

A total of 20 people were evacuated from the premises before SCDF's arrival.

There were no reported injuries, and the cause of the fire is under investigation.

The owner of the karaoke joint, a man surnamed Liu, 45, told Shin Min Daily News that he had rushed to the scene after being notified by his employees.

He had been running the establishment for the past 12 years.

He revealed that the employees had discovered the fire in the storage room.

They tried to put it out with a fire extinguisher but were unable to do so.

Liu said there were around 10 customers at the time of the incident.

Patrons from the Soi Thai Kitchen, the Thai restaurant downstairs, were also evacuated.

The storage room contained electrical and empty boxes, Liu said.

He told Shin Min that the fire was likely caused by the wiring.

"It looks like only the storage room was burned and other parts of the premises were not affected much," he added.

The owner of the two-storey shophouse, a man surnamed Yu, 65, told Shin Min that this was the first time a fire has broken out since 1969.

Yu used to own a coffee shop at the shophouse, which was passed down by his father.

However, he has since rented out the space after his retirement.

Top photo via Shin Min