http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest+News/Singapore/Story/A1Story20120717-359529.html
REF: Fire breaks out at Marine Parade Hotel (pics and vid)
SCDF's public-affairs director, Lieutenant-Colonel Abdul Razak, said that the East Village Hotel fire was among the more challenging ones that the SCDF has faced in recent years.
He said that a call, received at about 9am, informed them of thick black smoke that engulfed the hotel, formerly known as Paramount Hotel.
The SCDF team arrived on site eight minutes later to conduct fire-fighting, search-and-rescue and smoke-extraction operations in the retail annexe, which is in a separate building from the main hotel building, where guest rooms are located.
He noted that, while the cause of the fire was still under investigation, the polystyrene boards and other construction materials were deemed to have fuelled the blaze. He added that polystyrene is a material that produces black thick black smoke when burned, like rubber and plastic.
The fire was believed to have started on level 1 of the retail annexe due to "hot works", said a spokesman for the main contractor undertaking upgrading works there. Hot works generally include welding and flame-cutting.
SCDF firefighters - who were equipped with their breathing apparatus, six water jets and three foam jets - had to inch their way into the hotel lobby under virtually zero visibility. A staircase links the lobby to the basement where the construction materials were stored.
Eight personnel from the Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (Dart) were also thrown into the fray, drilling a small hole in the concrete wall which had blocked access to an area of the basement directly under the hotel lobby.
This was to ensure that no pockets of fire remained in any area, Lt-Col Abdul Razak explained.
The basement where the former Paramount Restaurant was situated is undergoing renovations, as part of the hotel's revamp by new owners Far East Organization, which acquired the hotel in February.
The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) said yesterday that it has revoked the construction permit. This will only be lifted following investigations and certification that the annexe building is safe for works to resume.
A total of 50 hotel guests and staff members were evacuated from the hotel. Of the group, four children and five adults were taken to the Singapore General Hospital (SGH), for treatment for smoke inhalation.
About 100 construction workers from a condominium construction site adjacent to the hotel were evacuated unscathed, as a precaution.
Two firefighers were also taken to SGH with minor injuries, one suffering from heat exhaustion while the other with slight burns on his hands, after he tripped and fell.
By 6pm yesterday, SGH said that four casualties, believed to be foreigners, remained under its care, while the rest had been discharged.
Mr Raphael Saw, chief operation officer of Far East Organization's Hospitality Business Group, said that arrangements were being made to accommodate the affected hotel guests at Changi Village Hotel and to facilitate their travel arrangements.
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