A fire broke out at a three-storey shophouse at 278 River Valley Road on April 8, 2025, at around 9:45 AM, sending 19 people to the hospital, including 15 children.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) arrived to find flames on the second and third floors of the building.
Construction workers helped rescue children trapped on a third-storey ledge before emergency responders arrived. Social media videos showed children sitting on the narrow ledge while black smoke came from the windows.
Workers in high-visibility vests climbed metal scaffolding and used a ladder to bring multiple people to safety.
The affected building houses Tomato Cooking School, which offers cooking lessons and camps for children on the upper floors where the fire was most severe.
A Facebook video posted around 10:00 AM showed more than 10 people, mostly children, sitting on the ledge below windows as smoke poured from the building. The footage captured men on scaffolding carrying children down to safety.
SCDF teams used rescue ladders and a combined platform ladder to evacuate remaining people on the ledge. Firefighters then went to the second and third floors to fight the blaze.
The fire was put out within 30 minutes using three water jets. SCDF conducted damping down operations on the second floor to prevent the fire from reigniting.
About 80 people from the shophouse and nearby buildings were evacuated by police and SCDF during the emergency.
All 19 people affected—four adults and 15 children—were taken to the hospital for treatment.
SCDF shared photos on Facebook showing firefighters working on the second floor of the damaged building.
“We would like to thank the members of the public who assisted in the rescue of the stranded persons for their quick actions and bravery,” SCDF said in a Facebook post.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation. The full extent of damage to the shophouse has not yet been determined.
