Suspected rice cooker fire destroys nasi lemak stall at ABC Market
A fire broke out at the ABC Brickworks Food Centre on Sunday (26 Jan).
The fire consumed a nasi lemak stall and apparently occurred due to the stall owner’s carelessness when using a rice cooker.
Four stalls at the market, which included the nasi lemak stall, were affected by the fire.
Fire occurred at ABC Market nasi lemak stall
A video shared by Ms Wang, a Shin Min Daily News (SMDN) reader, showed flames coming out of one of the stalls.
The raging blaze occasionally reached the ceiling of the hawker centre. Sounds of burning items within the stall can also be heard in the footage.
The Shin Min Daily News reporter visited the scene on Monday (27 Jan) morning.
Zaini (name transliterated from Mandarin), the nasi lemak stall owner, told SMDN reporters that he left cooked rice in a rice cooker that night, before turning off the power and leaving.
“I left at about 11.30pm and planned to return to fry rice at 4am. I suddenly got a notification from the chairman of the ABC Brickworks Business Association and rushed back immediately,” recalled Zaini.
The fire damaged the stall’s cabinets, shutters, and rice cooker. According to the stall owner, it was difficult to find a contractor for repairs as Chinese New Year is just around the corner.
Source: Shin Min Daily News on Facebook
The stall owner revealed that the stall has been operating for nine years. Now that the stall is badly damaged, it will remain closed for one to two weeks before resuming operations.
In a separate post, Tanjong Pagar MP Eric Chua revealed that the fire affected 4 stalls at the market.
Source: Eric Chua on Facebook
Mr Chua also said that he and his team are in talks with the affected stallholders and thanked the respective agencies for helping with the situation.
Fire involved contents of a cooking pot
In response to queries by MS News, SCDF confirmed that the fire involved the contents of a cooking pot.
Firefighters extinguished the fire with a water jet and reported no injuries.
Preliminary findings suggest that unattended cooking likely caused the fire.
SCDF reminds the public to avoid leaving cooking activities unattended and to switch off gas or electric supplies when not in use.
Also read: ‘Unfortunate that this happened just before CNY’: Several cars damaged by fire at Ang Mo Kio carpark
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Featured image adapted from Shin Min Daily News on Facebook and Eric Chua on Facebook.
