Dignity Kitchen restaurant closed indefinitely after fire outside premises, police suspect it’s a prank 

Dignity Kitchen closed until further notice due to fire on 13 Feb

Dignity Kitchen in Boon Keng said it will be closed until further notice after a fire broke out outside its premises in the early hours of Wednesday (13 Feb).

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) extinguished the fire, which originated from discarded items found in the back alley of the premises. No injuries were reported.

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) suspects that the fire was an act of mischief. Investigations are ongoing.

Dignity Kitchen closed until further notice

The restaurant, which also functions as a social enterprise for the differently-abled and disadvantaged, announced its closure on Tuesday (13 Feb).

It stated that the fire had broken out next to its premises and the roof was damaged as a result.

Dignity Kitchen uploaded three images of the damage, showing the walls had become charred and peeled off.

Large discarded items, including what appears to be bins, were also damaged in the fire.

Several people uploaded videos of the scene from last night online.

One video taken from a block opposite shows smoke from the fire billowing several metres above the red building.

The fire itself emanates from beside the building.

Another video shows the scene from an upper floor. The smoke appears visible from several stories up.

“Our thanks and appreciation to SCDF for their quick response in containing the fire and SPF for providing information to our team throughout the unfortunate incident,” Dignity Kitchen said.

Manager was worried when news of fire broke out

Due to the fire, the restaurant’s Chinese New Year celebrations were called off.

Deputy general manager Xu Jiawei (transliterated from Chinese) told Shin Min Daily News that he was worried when he learned about the fire at around midnight.

“When nearby residents saw the fire, they took a video and sent it to us,” he said.

“Although there was no one at night, I was still very worried, fearing that someone would be injured. Later, my employees rushed to the scene and were relieved to see that no one was injured. ”

He said that the fire started outside the store and severely damaged the exterior walls and air-conditioning.

The smoke and flames also blackened the roof and caused some parts to fall off.

Mr Xu said he’d have to check with the insurance company regarding the amount of losses incurred.

Fire under investigation

Responding to media queries by MS News, SCDF said they were alerted to a fire near 69 Boon Keng Road.

“The fire involved discarded items along the back alley of the premises,” they said.

SCDF extinguished the fire using a water jet.

There were no reported injuries, and the cause of the fire is under investigation.

According to Shin Min Daily, the police had told Mr Xu that the case was being treated as an act of mischief.

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Featured image adapted from Dignity Kitchen on Facebook and Facebook.