Tuas blaze
Workers safely evacuated as fire breaks out at Singapore waste management plant.
SINGAPORE: A huge fire broke out at a Tuas waste management plant, and was put out after four hours.
No casualties were reported, said Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).
One firefighter was sent to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital due to heat exhaustion, it said, adding that the cause of the fire was under investigation.
SCDF officers are currently damping down the site to prevent potential rekindling of fire from the hot, burnt surfaces.
At the peak of the fire that broke out at around 6am yesterday, explosions could be heard as fire fighters fought to put out the fire involving chemical waste and flammable materials at 23 Tuas View Circuit.
SCDF said the fire involved chemical waste and flammable materials and had advised the public to stay clear of the area.
Eye witnesses said the roads around the site of the fire at 23 Tuas View Circuit are closed and bus services have stopped.
A chemical smell hung in the air as tall plumes of thick black smoke rose up into the sky.
ECO Special Waste Management was engulfed in flames when the SCDF arrived.
It is fully licensed by the National Environment Agency (NEA) as a Toxic Industrial Waste Collector, a General Waste Collector and an Asbestos Removal Contractor, among other qualifications.
The company’s chief executive officer, Rick Reidinger, said that the 20 workers at the plant were evacuated in time and no one was hurt.
“We are still doing an investigation as to the exact source but the important thing is that nobody is hurt,” he said.
“About half of the plant is not damaged, so we are working to get it up as quickly as possible,” he added.
In 2012, ECO’s incinerator plant in Tuas View Crescent also caught fire, with its 25 employees evacuated safely.
Reidinger said that the company has since made a “major investment” in building fire safety but it was “unfortunate” that the latest fire could not be prevented.
Founded in 1998, ECO provides services to industrial and commercial customers from industries such as the petrochemical, pharmaceutical, oil and gas, power generation, electronics, marine, engineering, and semiconductor industries. — The Straits Times/Asia News Network