'For now, goodbye': Mee+ eatery at Tampines burns down in fire after almost-daily power trips since opening 4 months ago

Responding to Mothership's queries, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it was alerted at about 8:20am on Sep. 3 to a fire at Block 477 Tampines Street 43.

The fire involved an electrical distribution box in a unit on the ground floor.

SCDF extinguished the fire with a water jet and about 20 people were evacuated from the affected block as a precaution.

A person from a neighbouring unit was assessed for shortness of breath, and declined to be sent to the hospital.

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

Frequent power trips

Speaking to Mothership on Sep. 5, Tan said that the pair, who invested over S$20,000 into the business, are still unsure of the total cost of the damage and what their next steps will be.

He said, however, that they currently do not have plans to rebuild Mee+.

Noting that they are are relatively new to the industry, and this being their first F&B stall, Tan said they did not have insurance for the shop, which is something they deeply regret.

He added that they had been experiencing frequent power trips since the beginning of their tenancy, and had been told that the previous tenant had reportedly experienced similar problems.

"Our main DB box is located inside our unit but is shared by three units, our shop, the laundromat next door, and the residential unit above us," said Tan.

He pointed out that the shop experienced power trips almost daily during its four months of operations.

This affected their operations, including occasions when the power would trip while customers were inside the shop.

They were also aware that the residential unit above them had apparently experienced similar electrical issues.

"On one occasion, the landlord had to enter our shop during our closing hours to access the main DB box," said Tan.

"He requested our permission before entering because the DB box was located inside our unit."

First warning sign on Aug. 28

Tan added that the first sign of trouble was on Aug. 28, when there was a strong smell similar to melted plastic coming from somewhere in the shop.

After searching around the premises, they eventually realised that the smell was coming from the DB box.

The pair immediately contacted a licensed electrician, whom they paid for, to inspect the issue.

The electrician confirmed that the problem was coming from the DB box, and part of the box had visibly melted, said Tan.

According to the electrician, the wiring used was not of the appropriate thickness and should have been replaced with a thicker cable, said Tan.

"We had the wiring replaced and informed the landlord about what had happened."

The landlord later told the pair that they should contact him directly in future and that he would arrange for his own electrician to attend to any electrical issues.

The following day, the landlord sent his own electrician to the shop and informed Tan that they would be working on the meter wiring inside the DB box.

Sep. 3 fire

About a week later on Sep. 3, Tan noticed the same melted-plastic smell at about 6:45am and saw smoke coming from the DB box.

He immediately switched everything off as he did not want to take any further risks.

He then texted the landlord and called him around eight times, but could not get through.

Around 7am the same day, Tan had to leave the store to collect the shop's daily supply of kuih from their supplier and in the meantime, continued trying to contact the landlord.

He added that the landlord got back to him at about 7:45am, saying he would arrange for his electrician to come down at around 9am.

However, while Tan was on the way back to the shop, the vegetable seller at the market which the pair regularly patronised for their ingredients suddenly called and said their shop was on fire.

Tan immediately called 995 and rushed back to the shop.

At present, all three affected units are without electrical power.

Overwhelmed by support

"Rather than pointing fingers or making assumptions about who is responsible, we want the relevant authorities to properly investigate what happened," said Tan.

He added: "We are submitting a request for an investigation by PUB so that the electrical system, DB box, wiring, and circumstances leading up to the fire can be properly examined.

"We believe it is important to establish the facts first before anyone determines where the responsibility lies."

He noted that the pair have been overwhelmed by the support they received since the fire, with many reaching out to offer help and sending messages of encouragement.

The pair also do not have plans to start a crowdfunding campaign, said Tan, adding that they received a very generous offer from @sgmicrocement, who offered to cover costs for them.

They have not made any decision regarding the offer yet, but said they are extremely touched by their kindness.

"For us, this is not primarily about the money," said Tan.

He added: "What matters more right now is understanding what caused this and, more importantly, how something like this can be prevented from happening to someone else in the future."

"We are just extremely grateful that the fire happened when nobody was inside the shop. It could have been much worse, and we are thankful that no one was injured."

'Built all this from scratch'

Rusydi previously said that everything was still raw, and the pair wanted to let their customers know that the restaurant would be closed for the time being.

"We built all this from scratch", an emotional Rusydi said in a TikTok video.

He added that it was not just by the efforts of himself and Tan, but also with the support of other people such as their parents.

Mee+ said in an Instagram post: "Not sure what's next for us, but for now, goodbye Mee+"

"We would also like to express our deepest gratitude to all our customers who have patronised our restaurant over the past [four and a half months], especially our regulars who have continued to support us and with whom we've had the privilege of building genuine connections."

Thanking their customers, Mee+ added that they would miss them, and thanked them for all the "love, support and memories".

"It truly means more to us than words can express," the post read. "Thank you from the bottom of our broken hearts."

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