Balestier Rd kopitiam in flames, smoke seen from far away

Plumes of thick, black smoke from coffeeshop fire seen over Whampoa

By Carolyn Khew

SCDF firefighters managed to extinguished the fire, which was confined to the coffeeshop, within 20 minutes.

Get the full story from The Straits Times.

SINGAPORE - A coffee shop along Balestier Road was spotted burning fiercely Sunday morning.

A towering column of smoke was sighted by many Stomp contributors from a distance.

Contributors Cabelle, VFOX , Jayson, Xuan, Sangeeta, Wati, Fra and Sheryl all sent in pictures and comments about the blaze.

In particular, contributor Xuan managed to capture close-up pictures of the burning coffeeshop.

She describes the situation on the ground: "The whole coffeeshop is on fire!

"Thick black fumes are all over."

Contributor Cabelle spotted the flames and immediately called the SCDF.

She relates her experience: "I was working and got a glimpse of smoke rising from the coffee shop opposite my workplace along Balestier Road at 10.35am on Mar 30.

"I called for a fire engine and in less than ten minutes, the smoke had turned into a full blown fire."

Contributor VFOX had been jogging past the area when he noticed the fire.

He wrote: "I was running as usual past this kopitiam at Balestier Road towards Thomson Medical Centre.

"But on my way home, this happened. I hope everyone is safe."

Jayson commented: "My friend was in the car on the way to her brother's tuition centre and she saw the coffee shop on fire, it was engulfed with thick smoke.

"Increasing the PSI level.

"Not sure if there are casualties but do be careful if you're near Balestier :)"

Sheryl sighted the column of smoke from above.

She wrote: "A fire broke out at a coffee shop outside Balestier Hill Primary around 11am.

"The stretch of Balestier Road after the coffee shop is sealed off.

Contributor Sangeeta spotted the fire from a nearby stretch of the PIE: "On my way on the PIE, I saw a cloud of smoke rising, it looked like a huge fire had broken down somewhere near Thomson Road."

Wati had also spotted the blaze also from the PIE.

She wrote: "I was driving on the PIE towards Stevens Road, when suddenly my family and I saw thick, black smoke somewhere around upper Thomson Road on the left side of the road.

"I wasn't sure what actually caught fire but the smoke was so attention-grabbing.

"It was so thick and it just kept contributing to the pollution non-stop."

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