Car fire causes congestion & bus delays along TPE
A car that burst into flames along the Tampines Expressway (TPE) on Thursday (30 July) night is allegedly the same one seen bearing festive decorations across town on several occasions.
Footage of the fire posted in a Telegram chat group for motorists showed the vehicle burning along the left road shoulder.
The flames were so large that they singed vegetation under the overhead viaduct.
Source: SGRoad Blocks / Traffic News on Telegram
Car on fire appears to be adorned with ornaments
Another video posted on Facebook, recorded by a passing motorist, showed the fire mostly limited to the car’s bonnet.
Source: Pingo Lim Keum Ping on Facebook
It appeared to be adorned with some assortment of ornaments, especially on its roof, side panels and door handles.
Source: Pingo Lim Keum Ping on Facebook
As the fire continued burning fiercely, it appeared to start spreading to the rest of the vehicle.
Source: Pingo Lim Keum Ping on Facebook
TPE fire reduces entire car to charred frame
A third video posted by Singapore Road Accident on Facebook showed a number of emergency vehicles at the scene, including police cars, a fire engine and an Expressway Monitoring Advisory System (EMAS) Recovery vehicle.
Source: Singapore Road Accident on Facebook
At least two lanes of the TPE were cordoned off by traffic cones.
Source: Singapore Road Accident on Facebook
Amid the multiple firefighters stood the car, which had been entirely reduced to a charred frame.
Source: Singapore Road Accident on Facebook
TPE car fire causes congestion & bus delays
In a post on X, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said at 7.59pm that the accident had occurred along the TPE in the direction of the Seletar Expressway (SLE), after the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE) exit.
Motorists were advised to avoid lanes 2 and 3.
Source: @LTAtrafficnews on X
Just 5 minutes later, LTA warned that the accident had caused congestion till Tampines Link.
Source: @LTAtrafficnews on X
At 8.56pm, the congestion persisted, stretching till Tampines Avenue 10.
Source: @LTAtrafficnews on X
Lane 3 was still blocked at 9.04pm, more than an hour after the accident, LTA updated.
Source: @LTAtrafficnews on X
On Thursday night, LTA’s MyTransport app also alerted commuters that a total of 13 bus services — 3, 27, 34, 53, 81, 88, 89, 109, 110, 118, 168, 859 and 969 — faced delays of up to 30 minutes.
Fire involved engine compartment of car
In response to queries from MS News, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it was alerted to the fire at about 7.40pm on 30 July.
It involved the engine compartment of a car, and was extinguished by the SCDF using a water jet and two hosereels.
No injuries were reported.
Same car seen decked out in festive decorations
According to a Facebook post by SG Road Vigilante (SRGV), the car is the same one that has been seen bearing festive decorations on several occasions.
During Chinese New Year (CNY) last year, the silver-grey sport utility vehicle (SUV) was seen covered in a wide range of CNY decorations.
Source: @7ye8ye on TikTok
The practice was apparently not restricted to CNY, as a similar car with the same licence plate was also seen similarly decked out for Deepavali and National Day.
Source: SGRV FRONT MAN on Facebook
The cause of the fire is under investigation, SCDF said.
Also read: Car covered in CNY decorations spotted in S’pore, draws mixed reactions from netizens
Car covered in CNY decorations spotted in S’pore, draws mixed reactions from netizens
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from SGRoad Blocks / Traffic News on Telegram and @7ye8ye on TikTok.
