People on 3rd-storey ledge in shophouse fire rescued by members of public and SCDF, 1 child dead
A fire broke out at 278 River Valley Road on April 8 morning, resulting in the death of a 10-year-old girl.
The address is for Tomato Cooking School, which runs cooking lessons and camps for children.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) was alerted to the fire at 9.45am, said SCDF in a Facebook post.
Upon SCDF's arrival, the fire was raging on the second and third floors of a third-storey shophouse, where several people were on a ledge outside the third-floor unit.
Members of the public, including construction workers, used a metal scaffolding and a ladder to reach those stuck on the ledge and brought a number of them to safety. The rest were rescued by SCDF using rescue ladders and a combined platform ladder.
At the same time, firefighters proceeded to the second and third floor to fight the fire, which was extinguished with three water jets within 30 minutes.
About 80 people from the affected shophouse and nearby premises were evacuated by the police and SCDF.
Five adults and 15 children were taken to hospital.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
