Recent Spate of Fires at Coffeeshops

Mr Yee Chia Hsing asked the Minister for National Development whether the Ministry is looking into the root cause of the recent HDB coffeeshop fires and whether warranties for floor tiles of units above the affected coffeeshops can be provided to these residents.

The Senior Minister of State for National Development (Mr Desmond Lee) (for the Minister for National Development): Madam, there are various possible causes for these fires. These include excessive open flames from cooking stoves, poor housekeeping of stalls, or poor maintenance of the exhaust system.

SCDF investigates the cause of all reported fires and may, if necessary, introduce new guidelines to enhance fire safety at the coffeeshops.

If residential units are affected by fire in the coffeeshops, HDB will inspect these flats and assess what damage may have been caused.

Under HDB's tenancy agreement or memorandum of lease with coffeeshop tenants or lessees, the tenant or lessee is liable for any damage arising from acts of negligence. Should a fire break out, HDB will require the tenants or lessees of the coffeeshops to follow up with the necessary repairs, including to the floor tiles of units above the affected coffeeshops.

Mr Yee Chia Hsing (Chua Chu Kang): I thank the Senior Minister of State for the answer. I have two questions. Which agency is responsible for ensuring the proper maintenance of the exhaust system? Number two is that many residents want to have more coffeeshops but few residents understand the inconvenience of staying above the coffeeshop units. Some of the visible damage is repaired post the fire incident but residents have actually fed back that, for example, the floor tiles, it may not be visible right after, and maybe the cracks may appear like six months or a year after. Will they then still be able to claim from the coffeeshop tenant?

Mr Desmond Lee: On the first question, it is the responsibility of the tenant of the coffeeshop, the lessee, to make sure that their exhaust duct is kept clean. SCDF has guidelines and if they are found not to be complied with them, action will be taken.

As for the second question, I do not think the Member is referring specifically to popping tiles which occur after a fire has broken out. That will be clear nexus. But if he is referring to other circumstances where these things occur after a period of time, then you need to look at whether it is within the warranty period. If it is, then they can be replaced. But if it is many, many years, even a decade down the road, and these things occur, we need to really look at what the cause of it is.