SINGAPORE – A fire at an industrial building storing chemicals in Tuas was brought under control by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) on Wednesday morning, but not before damaging $10 million worth of chemical materials.

The SCDF was alerted at about 2am to the blaze, which covered an area of roughly a football field, in the Tuas industrial area. It dispatched 30 emergency vehicles and about 100 firefighters from two stations and a special rescue unit.

The building that caught fire at 132 Pioneer Road is owned by Megachem, a wholesaler and distributor of speciality chemicals supplied to companies in the oil and gas, semiconductor and pharmaceutical industries. The SCDF said chemicals were stored on the premises.

The flames were brought under control at around 6.15am with five water and foam jets and two unmanned firefighting machines. Firefighters then conducted damping down operations to prevent the fire restarting.

The SCDF said one firefighter was taken to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital after he experienced giddiness during the operation. He was later discharged in a stable condition.

There were no workers at the site when the fire started, said Megachem’s group managing director Sidney Chew.

He estimated that the company lost some $10 million worth of chemicals and added that the building Megachem has occupied since 1994 would have to be “totally rebuilt”.

“We have no choice. The structure is compromised,” said Mr Chew, adding that the building is insured.

The cause of the fire, which was reported by a security guard on duty, is being investigated.

The public were advised to avoid the area.

Train services between the Tuas Link and Tuas West Road stations on the East-West MRT line were suspended on Wednesday for nearly two hours because of the blaze. Services resumed at around 7.20am.

Megachem is located between the two stations.

A man who works in a building adjacent to Megachem’s premises said he had to take a different route to work.

“I came to work at around 7.30am and I could still see black smoke from the factory. The roads were cordoned off and I had to go by another route to get to work,” said the Malaysian factory worker who wanted to be known only as Mr Lim.

“By 8am, the smoke was dissipating,” he added.

Another man, who wanted to be known as Mr Ahmad and works in pharmaceutical company MSD located just a street away, said: “I could detect a weird burning chemical smell. It stings a bit.”