Fire breaks out at prata shop at Cheong Chin Nam Rd at 12am, about 20 evacuated

A fire broke out on the second floor of an eatery in Bukit Timah.

The incident occurred at Al Hazima Restaurant located at 4 Cheong Chin Nam Road on Jul. 21 at about 12:10am, 8world reported.

Videos of the incident showed emergency responders, including police officers and firefighters, present at the scene.

Employees from Al Hazima were also seen interacting with emergency responders.

Fire extinguisher

A 48-year-old diner at a nearby dim sum restaurant told 8world that he was having supper with his friends when the fire broke out.

Two employees from the Indian Muslim eatery ran over to the dim sum restaurant and asked its staff for a fire extinguisher.

The dim sum restaurant staff reportedly replied that they had two.

However, they apparently could not be used.

The employees from Al-Hazima then purportedly hurried back, and a staff member from the dim sum restaurant later brought a fire extinguisher over.

When the diner and his friends left the dim sum restaurant at about 12:15am, they apparently witnessed black smoke emanating from the roof of Al-Hazima.

He claimed that there were still more than 10 people dining inside the restaurant, and they seemed unaffected by the incident.

Electrical origin

In response to queries from Mothership, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said they were alerted to the fire at about 12:12am on the day of the incident.

The fire involved a storeroom on the second floor of a two-storey shophouse unit.

The fire was subsequently extinguished with a water jet.

About 20 persons evacuated from the affected unit before SCDF’s arrival.

There were no reported injuries.

Preliminary findings indicate that the fire likely started from an electrical origin in the store.

Al-Hazima Restaurant

In a Facebook post, Al-Hazima confirmed the incident and said that “relevant authorities were contacted immediately”.

The eatery ensured “that every customer, staff member, and member of the public was evacuated safely”.

The caption added: “To everyone who was dining with us today, thank you for your calmness, cooperation, patience, and trust in our team during the evacuation. Your support made it possible for everyone to leave the premises safely, and we are truly grateful.”

The eatery said it “will provide further updates when appropriate”.