Hawkers worry about stall design after fire at newly opened Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre

[SGMCF328]

So now stall operators need to pass SOC in order to conduct their business in Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre, since they will need to clear the counter top to get out of their stall in the even of fire? 😅

On a serious note, why place the fire extinguisher outside the stall if the stall personnel are not allowed to gain access to their stall from the front? Any safety expert can confirm if the design of the new hawker centre violated the fire safety requirements?

 

Source: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/hawkers-worry-about-stall-design-after-fire-at-newly-opened-bukit-canberra-hawker-centre

SINGAPORE - Foodcourt operator Canopy Hawkers Group will check if additional mitigation measures are needed after hawkers raised safety concerns following a fire at the newly opened Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre last Tuesday.

One hawker said she had to climb over the fixed counter at the front of her stall to escape when an unattended stove at Long Xiang Ho Chiak Scissors Cut Curry Rice caught fire.

Several hawkers also pointed out that fire extinguishers are placed beyond their reach on walls outside their stalls.

Canopy Hawkers Group said the design layout of the stalls was made in consultation with a Qualified Person prior to deployment and is in compliance with the Fire Code, including on means of escape. 

A Qualified Person is a registered architect or a professional engineer.

The single-storey hawker centre has 44 stalls, which are arranged in five hexagonal structures of eight to nine stalls each. Each stall has openings at the back leading into a common area shared by other stalls in the same ring.

There is only a single common door allowing exit from the interior of each ring.

Madam Christine Lock, 47, who runs a nasi lemak stall two stalls away from the one that caught fire, said she was with her husband when the fire broke out.

She said she managed to scramble over the fixed counter, which is about 80cm high, but is worried about older and less mobile hawkers. “What if there’s a 70-year-old man in the stall, who may not be fit enough to climb over? What then?”

Madam Lock said that to reach the fire extinguishers placed in front of the stalls, hawkers have to go out from the back of their stall, and then past the single common exit door.

A hawker who wanted to be known only as Mr Lee said: “It’s quite ridiculous. The fire extinguisher is far away. If the back catches fire, then I have to jump out over the front counter.” “At least I can still get out,” said the 29-year-old, who runs Mexican-Indian fusion food stall Snack That Food Up. “But others may not be able to.”

Another hawker, who wanted to be known only as Ming, said it takes her about a minute to walk from her front counter to the back exit, and round to her stall front.

She said: “Sometimes, customers with a disability buy my food. Once, it was peak lunch hour and I had to carry someone’s plate to the table for him, but there were other people queueing too. “It wastes a lot of my time to walk one big round, since there isn’t an opening at the front counter.”

She added that she had raised the issue with Canopy Hawkers Group several times.

Darren (not his real name), who has been in the hawker business for more than 10 years and runs a stall at the hawker centre, said stallholders were informed of Canopy Hawkers Group’s “front counter clause” prior to the centre’s opening in December 2022.

The Straits Times understands that stallholders had signed contracts that state that the stall front should allow for no entrance or exit of any person from the front of the stall.

Tenants also have to place fire extinguishers within the stall.

Canopy Hawkers Group, which has had experience running various foodcourts and coffee shops over the past 12 years, said the hawker centre, which is its first, was inspected for fire safety on Sept 13, 2022.

An SCDF spokesman confirmed on Saturday that a Temporary Fire Permit, allowing the owner of the hawker centre to operate for 11 months before obtaining a Fire Safety Certificate, was issued to Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre on Sept 13.

The permit is issued only if the fire safety work of a project has been satisfactorily completed with only very minor outstanding issues, he added.

The certificate will be issued only after the completion of all fire safety works in the project.

[Watwheels]

Shouldnt the other hawkers question the one who left the stove on unattended? If hawkers have to be reminded with this kind of reckless behaviour no amount of safety design or features will help reduce the fire risks.

And some of them place decorative stuff over the counter top obstructing themselves from escaping in an event of a fire. W/o these things they could easily stretch over the counter top and reach for the fire extinguisher. 

 

If wanna cry foul, one must first look in the mirror.

Edited June 20, 2023 by Watwheels

[13177]

Who approved such design in the first place le? 😅

[Lala81]

actually i like the design of the HC, makes everything neat. 

maybe 2 entry points into the hexagon would be ideal.

[Jamesc]

Where to apply for a stall for my MIL?

Fire element is a big factor in her horror scope this year. 

 

[Jamesc]

One of the smartest designs in counter tops is the space saving flap.

Its genius flip it up for extra counter space and flip it down when you want to walk out.

And they removed it!

 

[Tohto]

Any comments from our fire safety expert here?

 

[Mkl22]

On 6/20/2023 at 9:41 AM, 13177 said:

Who approved such design in the first place le? 😅

someone BBQ Le!😁

must be a foreigner who design lor. never see all hawker stalls here are front entry.

[Mkl22]

On 6/20/2023 at 9:31 AM, Watwheels said:

Shouldnt the other hawkers question the one who left the stove on unattended? If hawkers have to be reminded with this kind of reckless behaviour no amount of safety design or features will help reduce the fire risks.

And some of them place decorative stuff over the counter top obstructing themselves from escaping in an event of a fire. W/o these things they could easily stretch over the counter top and reach for the fire extinguisher. 

 

If wanna cry foul, one must first look in the mirror.

design f**ked up means f**ked up. all hawker centers with front entry for so many years no such complaint. some kay khiang f**ked up big time.

[Volvobrick]

On 6/20/2023 at 11:24 AM, Mkl22 said:

someone BBQ Le!😁

must be a foreigner who design lor. never see all hawker stalls here are front entry.

I think I know designer from where.... Same like those bus stop roofs with convex ceiling, only serves to have rain water dripping all the way to the centre. 

[Benarsenal]

The design is indeed quite stupid. It is quite confusing to walk around.

[Playtime]

On 6/20/2023 at 11:26 AM, Mkl22 said:

design f**ked up means f**ked up. all hawker centers with front entry for so many years no such complaint. some kay khiang f**ked up big time.

i wonder if fire dept will kenna... surely they aslo approved it.🤔

[Spidey10]

On 6/20/2023 at 11:24 AM, Mkl22 said:

someone BBQ Le!😁

must be a foreigner who design lor. never see all hawker stalls here are front entry.

FT......maybe have never eaten at a HC before..

[Victor68]

Today, scdc, architect, everyone is so pro biz that they just want to squeeze as much space for rental as possible. To be safe, put architect in the stall sure he design for practicality and safety first.

There should always be a minimum space for each stall, space for storage, space for collection and cleaning of utensils. Space for queuing, etc. Otherwise why would ministers want to stay in a bangalow, 400 sqft 3 bedrooms apartment will do. 

[13177]

On 6/20/2023 at 11:24 AM, Mkl22 said:

someone BBQ Le!😁

must be a foreigner who design lor. never see all hawker stalls here are front entry.

Design and approve should be two different person le. Design cmi, then it should not get approved. Unless the person design and approved also foreigner, then i speechless liao. 😅

[13177]

On 6/20/2023 at 12:38 PM, Spidey10 said:

FT......maybe have never eaten at a HC before..

Never eaten? Maybe never see a hawker centre before. 

[Lethalstrike]

On 6/20/2023 at 9:41 AM, 13177 said:

Who approved such design in the first place le? 😅

This is hawker centre trying to be food court design lah. Food court all cannot access from the front of the stall. 

[Victor68]

On 6/20/2023 at 1:11 PM, Lethalstrike said:

This is hawker centre trying to be food court design lah. Food court all cannot access from the front of the stall. 

True but I have yet to come across a food court stall that is so small as a hawker center stall leh. Even their kitchen area is bigger than the hawker center stall. Same for coffee shop stalls. Why NEA so clever?