Huge fire at Yong Sing Motor Works

[Raubern]

SINGAPORE - A fire broke out at a vehicle workshop along Defu Lane 12, near Bartley Road East, on Friday evening.

No injuries were reported.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said in a Facebook post on Friday it was alerted to a blaze at 53 Defu Lane 12 at about 6.40pm.

It added the fire involved multiple vehicles parked within the premises, and the area affected by the fire covered about 10 metres by 10 metres.

It said: “SCDF firefighters deployed three water jets to contain and prevent the fire from spreading to neighbouring units. The fire was extinguished in about an hour.”

Investigations are ongoing.

When The Straits Times arrived at the scene, firefighters were dousing water over large blackened trucks parked outside a unit bearing a sign that read Yong Sing Motor Works.

Its director, Mr Sim Seng Cheng, 61, told the media in Mandarin that at about 5pm a supervisor called to tell him a fire had broken out there with 20 employees inside.

He was told one of the workers was spray-painting a van when a nearby motor exploded. The motor was in a grilled enclosure and the workers were unable to get close to it.

While some workers tried to douse the blaze through the grill, with a fire extinguisher, the other workers drove the vehicles out of the workshop.

But the fire could not be put out.

An association member at the neighbouring Hong San Temple, who declined to be named, said he heard a loud boom at about 6.30pm while he was watching the World Cup match between Wales and Iran with nine others.

The 68-year-old said: “There were already many people gathering around outside. We heard three or four more explosions that made us jump.”

He added he saw four or five workshop employees running and shouting.

He described the flames as reaching higher than a three-storey building next to the temple when an SCDF fire engine arrived.

Mr Sim said Yong Sing was moving to a nearby workshop at Block 8 Defu South Street and will continue operating from there.

He said: “I don’t have any details on the compensation yet. But I’m just glad no one was hurt.

“Life is more important than business. If someone had lost his life, I wouldn’t know how to tell his loved ones.”

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/fire-breaks-out-at-defu-lane-no-injuries-reported-scdf

https://www.facebook.com/SCDFpage

[Fitvip]

Whose car and lorry? 😪

[Comage]

He was told one of the workers was spray-painting a van when a nearby motor exploded. The motor was in a grilled enclosure and the workers were unable to get close to it.

 

While some workers tried to douse the blaze through the grill, with a fire extinguisher, the other workers drove the vehicles out of the workshop.

-----------

Poor sense of safety - what more can I say? Spray painting near a generator? What was the guy thinking? 

[Mkl22]

45 minutes ago, Comage said:

He was told one of the workers was spray-painting a van when a nearby motor exploded. The motor was in a grilled enclosure and the workers were unable to get close to it.

 

While some workers tried to douse the blaze through the grill, with a fire extinguisher, the other workers drove the vehicles out of the workshop.

-----------

Poor sense of safety - what more can I say? Spray painting near a generator? What was the guy thinking? 

Maybe a huge air compressor. No idea why it would be caged up. 

[Fitvip]

2 hours ago, Comage said:

He was told one of the workers was spray-painting a van when a nearby motor exploded. The motor was in a grilled enclosure and the workers were unable to get close to it.

 

While some workers tried to douse the blaze through the grill, with a fire extinguisher, the other workers drove the vehicles out of the workshop.

-----------

Poor sense of safety - what more can I say? Spray painting near a generator? What was the guy thinking? 

Had the set up complied with or approved by the SCDF?

[Comage]

2 hours ago, Mkl22 said:

Maybe a huge air compressor. No idea why it would be caged up. 

Air compressor for their pneumatic tools, or a power generator... Either one, you probably shouldn't spray paint near it. 

[13177]

I believe this is not the first time the worker spray paint near generator?! But nothing happen previously?

[Comage]

29 minutes ago, 13177 said:

I believe this is not the first time the worker spray paint near generator?! But nothing happen previously?

They were probably rolling the dice everyday, and yesterday roll a double lor. 

Sense of safety is not there, also oftentimes you see mechanics at workshops just smoking after a tough job is done, around all the pools of dubious liquids/oil spills on the floor. 

Wait till the workshops take over EV maintenance, where one needs to wear proper safety gloves and break the circuit properly before removal of the EV battery. 

It surely will flush out all these bad-behavior mechanics with no sense of work safety. 

[Mkl22]

1 hour ago, Comage said:

They were probably rolling the dice everyday, and yesterday roll a double lor. 

Sense of safety is not there, also oftentimes you see mechanics at workshops just smoking after a tough job is done, around all the pools of dubious liquids/oil spills on the floor. 

Wait till the workshops take over EV maintenance, where one needs to wear proper safety gloves and break the circuit properly before removal of the EV battery. 

It surely will flush out all these bad-behavior mechanics with no sense of work safety. 

How to flush out? Only way is to ka boom and finish them off. Their ignorance/stupidity and arrogance cannot be changed. 

[ER-3682]

This is the Old Workshop,lease going out soon,maybe Boss wanted just ''claim'' some Money from Insurance Company for Renovation of their new Place.?Nobody know.!

[Karoon]

@ER-3682 who knows... This industry is well-known of all kinds of cons

[13177]

19 hours ago, ER-3682 said:

This is the Old Workshop,lease going out soon,maybe Boss wanted just ''claim'' some Money from Insurance Company for Renovation of their new Place.?Nobody know.!

Is those workshop in defu lane going to demolish? 

[PSP415]

19 hours ago, ER-3682 said:

This is the Old Workshop,lease going out soon,maybe Boss wanted just ''claim'' some Money from Insurance Company for Renovation of their new Place.?Nobody know.!

It's like the first thing from the boss mouth when he said "see what compensation". That kinda set me thinking in the direction you taking. 

😂

[ER-3682]

26 minutes ago, 13177 said:

Is those workshop in defu lane going to demolish? 

I think Parts of Defu Industrial Area are going soon,together with Paya Lebar Airport,building a new Estate,during National Day Speech.PM Lee did mentioned it.

[ER-3682]

22 minutes ago, PSP415 said:

It's like the first thing from the boss mouth when he said "see what compensation". That kinda set me thinking in the direction you taking. 

😂

Put some old worthless Car Parts & tell the Insurance Company,new Parts burnt,nobody can know,this can claim alot of Money.

[Carbon82]

I don't ruled out the possibility of leveraging on insurance claims but they might have some miscalculation here. Anyone noticed there is a Min Def vehicle in the workshop? They should have move it out if this is a fraudulent claim...

BTW, I wonder what is that vehicle, look like some kind of mobile command centre from the all round viewing panel.

[Tohto]

24 minutes ago, Carbon82 said:

I don't ruled out the possibility of leveraging on insurance claims but they might have some miscalculation here. Anyone noticed there is a Min Def vehicle in the workshop? They should have move it out if this is a fraudulent claim...

BTW, I wonder what is that vehicle, look like some kind of mobile command centre from the all round viewing panel.

Your eye is sharp.

Has never see this type of MID vehicles before.

[13177]

28 minutes ago, Carbon82 said:

I don't ruled out the possibility of leveraging on insurance claims but they might have some miscalculation here. Anyone noticed there is a Min Def vehicle in the workshop? They should have move it out if this is a fraudulent claim...

BTW, I wonder what is that vehicle, look like some kind of mobile command centre from the all round viewing panel.

How come MID vehicle will send to commercial workshop for repair? Thought it should self repair in army MTL? Lol. So MID vehicle kena fire, what will be the compensation?