Albert Centre fire destroys half of retiree’s cardboard collection, residents had raised safety concerns
Quick-thinking members of the public sprang into action after a fire broke out near Albert Centre Market and Food Centre in Bugis on June 27.
Stomper Robert was riding his motorcycle past the area at around 2.15pm when he spotted the blaze.
Videos captured by his pocket camera show members of the public using buckets of water and fire extinguishers in an attempt to douse the flames before firefighters arrived. Smoke can be seen billowing from a pile of burnt debris beside the pavement.
Photos taken later show firefighters and a fire engine at the scene.
In response to a Stomp query, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it was alerted to the fire near Block 270 Queen Street at about 2.15pm.
“The fire, which involved discarded items along the pavement, was extinguished by SCDF using a hosereel,” an SCDF spokesperson said.
There were no reported injuries and the cause of the fire is under investigation.
Residents and shop owners had raised concerns over cardboard pile
Chinese-language daily Lianhe Zaobao reported that the fire involved a pile of discarded cardboard and paper that had been stored at an open space beside the food centre.
According to the report, a 77-year-old retiree had been collecting and storing cardboard there for more than 10 years.
He said he had brought the cardboard he collected that morning to the site at about 6am before returning to his nearby home to rest.
“Someone knocked on my door during lunchtime saying there was a fire,” he said. “I ran downstairs to check and found the cardboard had been burned.”
The retiree said the latest fire destroyed about half of his cardboard collection, estimated to weigh around 100kg, which he described as the “fruit of his labour” for half a day’s work.
He also claimed that someone had discarded a lit cigarette butt at the same spot in January, causing a similar fire, and suspected the latest blaze may have started the same way.
Although he said he would no longer store cardboard there, he lamented that doing so would “only benefit other garbage collectors”.
Several members of the public told Zaobao that the retiree had previously been reported for storing cardboard in the public space, but the piles would reappear shortly afterwards.
One nearby shop owner said the cardboard was stored close to a gas valve, raising concerns that it could spark a more serious fire.
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