Public water supply not affected by Tuas fire: NEA

Seet Sok Hwee Channel NewsAsia 28 Apr 14;

SINGAPORE: Sunday's warehouse fire in Tuas has raised concerns about its impact on the environment.

But the National Environment Agency (NEA) said public water supply has not been affected and air quality there is within the normal range.

Gutted in the warehouse were petroleum-based products and toxic wastes.

NEA said it did not detect any harmful gases.

It said toxic waste collection centres are located outside water catchment areas in order to prevent any water pollution to reservoirs.

As such, water used to extinguish the fire entered drains that lead to the Northern Tuas Basin, and not the Tengah Reservoir.

NEA said water samples from the Basin showed a slight increase in oil and grease levels following the incident, but the readings returned to normal levels on Monday.

Mr Richard Karim, a security guard from Technochem Environmental Complex, said: "They are clearing the waste water inside the drain. It's advice from the NEA."

- CNA/de

No injuries reported in Tuas warehouse fire
Claire Huang Channel NewsAsia 27 Apr 14;

SINGAPORE: A fire broke out at a warehouse housing waste products in Tuas Avenue 11 on Sunday afternoon. The Singapore Civil Defence Force said no one was injured.

The SCDF said it was alerted to the raging fire at the warehouse belonging to Technochem Environmental Complex at 3.38pm.

Eighty SCDF personnel and eight fire engines were despatched to the scene. They took about two-and-a-half hours to put out the fire, which engulfed a warehouse about the size of a two-room HDB flat.

Colonel Ling Young Ern, commander of the 4th SCDF Division, said: "When we arrived, the whole warehouse was already engulfed by the fire and we saw flames going through the roof.

"The warehouse contained a concoction of flammable materials and solvents, so our strategy was to contain the fire using handheld jets at the exterior to prevent it from spreading to the neighbouring companies.

"We deployed the UFM, the unmanned fire-fighting machine, which gave us the strategic advantage of going right into the seed of the fire, manoeuvring through the rubble to tackle the seed of the fire, to apply a layer of foam blanket over an area of 50 by 50 metres. That enabled us to put out the fire very effectively."

- CNA/ac