Fire engulfs Sembawang God of Wealth Temple on Friday night

SINGAPORE - A fire broke out on Friday (Sept 18) night at the Sembawang God of Wealth Temple.

The fire occurred at 28 Admiralty Street past 9pm on Friday evening, and the blaze appeared to engulf a large portion of the four-storey temple.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it was alerted to the fire at about 9.15pm, upon which it dispatched a fire engine and other fire-fighting assets to the scene.

Plumes of smoke could be seen billowing from the temple as red flames flared in the compound behind the main temple signage in a Facebook livestream posted by Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao at 10.56pm.

The blaze drew around 40 spectators across the canal from the main entrance of the temple.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeLIsukU-OE[/embed]

At about 11.28pm, the flames appeared to be extinguished after having raged for close to two hours. At least one SCDF personnel was later seen on the higher storeys of the temple, with torch in hand.

Onlookers cheered when the fire looked to be extinguished with some clapping and hollering. A blanket of grey-white smoke continued to billow around the large statue of the God of Wealth.

The SCDF said it used five water jets to penetrate and contain the fire. As a safety precaution, residents from a nearby elderly home were evacuated by the police. During the evacuation, an elderly man from the home experienced breathlessness and was assessed by an SCDF paramedic.

He was subsequently taken to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital by an SCDF ambulance.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.