Workers try to put out factory fire
When they saw a fire at a nearby factory in Hougang yesterday, the group of foreign workers jumped in to help.
When their neighbours were all right, five factory workers and one company driver tried to fight the fire from the ground using a fire hose. But the water could not reach the fire on the roof.
The men changed tack and used buckets of water to wet the side of their Defu Lane 7 factory, just in case the winds brought the flames across.
Factory worker from Myanmar Naing Aung, 30, said: "At about 3.40pm, the other factory workers and I saw a lot of black smoke and fire on the roof of the factory beside us.
"We immediately went out to the factory to provide assistance, but someone there said firefighters had been called," he said.
The men went back to their factory and tried to put out the fire from there with a fire hose.
"But the water pressure was too low," said factory worker Rahman Mohammad Mizanur.
He said: "Luckily the wind did not blow in the direction of our factory. That's the thing we're worried about."
Mr Rahman, 38, said when they realised they could not put it out, they went outside and waited for the firefighters.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said they received a call at 3.45pm alerting them to a fire at 10, Defu Lane 7.
They sent three fire engines, one Red Rhino, two fire bikes and two support vehicles to the scene.
Mr Naing Aung said: "At about 3.50pm, the firefighters, ambulance and police came. By then the fire had become smaller, but there was even more black smoke."
SCDF said the fire involved the chimney of a two-storey vacated factory which was being dismantled by workers.
The fire was put out within 30 minutes.
Five workers had evacuated from the burning factory prior to SCDF's arrival.
A firefighter was sent to Changi General Hospital due to back pain.
Investigations are ongoing.
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