Channel NewsAsia 5 Mar 19;
SINGAPORE: Firefighters in Singapore put out a vegetation fire near Lim Chu Kang Chinese Cemetery on Tuesday (Mar 5) after battling the blaze for nearly a whole day.
This was one of the longest Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) operations involving vegetation fires in recent years, said SCDF on its Facebook page on Tuesday morning.
SCDF responded to the fire at about 7am on Monday morning, and extinguished it 19 hours later, at about 2am on Tuesday.
Damping down operations are ongoing to prevent any potential rekindling from hot burnt surfaces.
The fire, which broke out in multiple spots, was about the size of one football field in length and involved "piles of timber waste amidst thick vegetation", said SCDF.
Eight emergency vehicles and 52 firefighters were deployed to fight the blaze.
"We would like to thank the public for the outpouring of support as well as the expression of concern and well-wishes for our frontline officers, both online and offline," said SCDF.
"Your kind words keep their fighting spirit high even when the going gets really tough. Thank you!"
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, it added.
Source: CNA/nc(mn/cy)
SCDF battles fire near Lim Chu Kang cemetery
Channel NewAsia 4 Mar 19;
SINGAPORE: Firefighters tried to put out a vegetation fire near Lim Chu Kang Chinese Cemetery which broke out on Monday morning (Mar 4), and efforts continued through the night.
The fire was about the size of one football field in length, said the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), adding that it involved piles of timber waste.
SCDF said it responded to the fire at about 7.05am.
It added that as the nearest fire hydrants are about 2km away from the site, 25 firefighters from the Special Rescue Unit had to manually lay hoses across that distance to maintain a constant water supply.
Portable pumps were also set up at intermediate points to boost the water pressure.
"Due to the slow-burning deep-seated fire and coupled with the abundance of nearby thick vegetations and windy condition, the prolonged firefighting operations are currently still ongoing," said the SCDF in a Facebook post at 8.23pm.
"It is expected to last through the night."
A total of eight emergency vehicles and 52 firefighters were, said SCDF.
"An onsite rehabilitation area has been set up for the firefighters to take turns to temporarily recuperate throughout the prolonged firefighting operations," it added.
ilitation area has been set up for the firefighters to take turns to recuperate. (Photo: SCDF)
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Source: CNA/ic(gs)
Vegetation fire near Lim Chu Kang cemetery put out early Tuesday after 19-hour operation
Goh Yan Han Straits Times 4 Mar 19;
SINGAPORE - A vegetation fire near Lim Chu Kang Chinese Cemetery was extinguished at 2am on Tuesday (March 5), following a 19-hour firefighting operation by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) that lasted through the night .
This was one of the longest SCDF operations involving vegetation fire in recent years, it said in a final update on the fire on Tuesday morning.
Earlier on Monday, SCDF said on that it responded to an alert on the fire at about 7.05am on Monday. The blaze involved piles of timber waste and was approximately the size of one football field.
"Due to the slow burning, deep-seated fire, coupled with the abundance of nearby thick vegetation and windy conditions, the prolonged firefighting operations are... still ongoing," said the SCDF in its Facebook post at 8.23pm.
As the nearest fire hydrants are about 2km from the fire, 25 firefighters from the Special Rescue Unit had to manually lay hoses across the distance to maintain a constant water supply for firefighting, said the SCDF.
Portable pumps were also set up at intermediate points to boost the water pressure for effective firefighting, it added.
A total of eight emergency vehicles and 52 firefighters were deployed, and three water jets were used to bring the fire under control.
SCDF said that an on-site rest area was set up for the firefighters to take turns to recuperate.
Fire at Lim Chu Kang cemetery on Monday (March 4)
In an update on Facebook at about 10am, SCDF said that damping down operations to prevent the fire from rekindling from the hot burnt surfaces are underway.
SCDF also thanked the public for their support, concern and well-wishes for its frontline officers.
"Your kind words keep their fighting spirit high even when the going gets really tough. Thank you!"
Annual statistics released by the SCDF last month said that nearly 600 vegetation fires occurred in 2018, an increase of nearly 60 per cent compared to 368 in the previous year.
This was largely due to the dry weather in February last year, which had 213 vegetation fires compared to 17 during the same period in 2017, said the SCDF.
