A woman had a close call after a mini hotpot blew up at a coffee shop in Bukit Batok last Friday (31 May).
The small ‘explosion’ reportedly occurred when a staff member poured gel fuel directly onto the fire.
Following the incident, the coffee shop refunded the woman for her meal.
According to Shin Min Daily News, the incident took place at a coffee shop at Block 155 Bukit Batok Street 11 at around 11am.
The woman, a teacher named Wei Yuqin (transliterated from Chinese), had ordered a small hotpot with fish ball noodles.
Upon receiving her order, Ms Wei noticed that the flames were about to go out and requested a staff member to add more fuel.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
She specifically cautioned the employee against pouring the gel fuel directly onto the fire, highlighting the potential danger.
Despite her warning, the staff member reassured her and proceeded to add the fuel directly onto the flames.
At that moment, there was a loud “bang” as flames erupted from under the hotpot, igniting the plastic bags Ms Wei had placed on the table.
Fortunately, the flames subsided quickly, and the bags were only partially charred.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
Some of the gel fuel splattered onto Ms Wei’s hair, causing her to flee the scene in a panic.
Nearby customers promptly intervened to extinguish the fire.
Ms Wei said this was not her first time patronising the stall and that she’d previously seen staff adding gel fuel safely from the side, not directly onto the fire.
She expressed her hope that the stall owners would train their employees on the proper handling of gel fuel to avoid similar incidents.
The employee involved, 60-year-old Ms Guo (transliterated from Chinese), admitted it was her first time adding fuel mid-service and didn’t know it couldn’t go directly on the fire.
“I was shocked and felt guilty afterwards,” she said. “Fortunately, the customer was okay.”
Ms Guo added that she called Ms Wei to apologise and offered to share some of the compensation costs.
She will no longer be adding fuel for customers.
The stall’s head chef, 39-year-old Mr Huang (transliterated from Chinese), said that Ms Guo had not been careful at the time, resulting in the incident.
In addition, he noted that they had never tried adding gel fuel to a customer’s hotpot halfway through before.
He emphasised that the stall takes the incident seriously, refunded the diner, and will be more careful with gel fuel in the future.
Also read: 50 residents evacuate after fire breaks out along Bedok South HDB corridor, PAB battery may be cause
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Featured image adapted from Shin Min Daily News.
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