GHK 407 Food House, a coffee shop located at Block 407 Ang Mo Kio Ave 10, caught on fire at about 2:40am on Jun. 11.
Upon being alerted, Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officers from Ang Mo Kio Fire Station and Bishan Fire Station responded to the incident, SCDF said in a Facebook post.
The fire was later extinguished with four water jets.
According to SCDF, 18 residents from the units on level 2 were evacuated by the police, and there were no reported injuries.
Aftermath of fire
As a result of the fire, most of the stalls in the coffee shop were damaged, and the rest of the coffee shop had sustained "considerable heat and smoke damage", said SCDF.
Lianhe Zaobao reported that nine stalls were completely burnt down.
At around 12pm on Jun. 11, Senior Minister and Ang Mo Kio GRC Member of Parliament (MP) Lee Hsien Loong, along with other grassroots leaders, also visited the coffee shop to express their sympathies to the stall owners as well as learn about compensation and repair matters, reported Zaobao.
Photo via Lianhe Zaobao
In a Facebook post published after his visit, SM Lee highlighted that the owner of the coffee shop had fire insurance, and encouraged homeowners, as well as owners of wet markets and cooked food stalls, to protect themselves with fire insurance as well.
SM Lee also added that grassroots leaders, the Housing and Development Board, and Ang Mo Kio Town Council "are looking after the affected residents and business owners".
Cause of fire
SCDF said preliminary investigations indicate that the fire had likely originated from unattended cooking in one of the stalls in the coffee shop.
To prevent such fires, SCDF also listed three practices for members of the public.
These include not leaving cooking unattended, not placing any flammable materials near heat sources, and keeping the stove and its surrounding area free from grease and oil stains.