30 Bishan Residents Evacuated Due To Manhole Emitting Loud Sounds & Black Smoke
On Wednesday (22 Feb), the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) received a call for assistance near a manhole in Bishan.
Upon arrival, they discovered burn marks within the manhole, although there was no fire. As a precaution, officers evacuated 30 residents in the area.
No one sustained any injuries, and the cause of the fire is now under investigation.
Burn marks detected inside manhole
Responding to MS News‘ queries, SCDF said they received a call for assistance near 34 Binchang Rise at about 11.20am.
After arriving at the scene, SCDF firefighters used a thermal imager. They detected a heat signature emanating from a nearby manhole.
The firefighters proceeded to open the manhole cover and observed that there was no fire. However, there were burn marks on the insulation sleeves of some electrical cables.
30 Bishan residents evacuated by SCDF
SCDF stated they worked with the police to evacuate 30 residents in the vicinity as a safety precaution.
According to Lianhe Zaobao, officers from SCDF’s Hazardous Materials Response Team were also present at the scene.
They pumped water into the manhole to cool it down and checked if any dangerous substances were present by using a hazardous substance detector. They also cordoned off the area at a radius of 100m.
Five hours after the incident, authorities left the scene.
A resident in the area, surnamed Chen, told Lianhe Zaobao his family heard loud noises that sounded like explosions at about 11.10am. This made him leave his house to check on the scene.
“The manhole cover didn’t fly out, but black smoke kept coming out of the sewer,” he added.
Another resident, Douglas, 59, lived 50 metres away from where the incident occurred.
He said there was a brief power outage at his home for two to three minutes. However, he’s unsure if it was related to the fire.
SCDF confirmed that no injuries were reported, and the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
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