A fatal industrial-building fire led SCDF to investigate external composite cladding and verify other buildings that might have used similar panels. Singapore subsequently tightened controls over the fire safety product supply chain.
Locate this case on the globe →Findings and evidence status
External panel compliance
SCDF reported that the composite panels used as external cladding did not meet the Class 0 standard required by the Fire Code. The ministry later stated that non-compliant cladding contributed to rapid fire spread.
Read the primary record ↗Wider verification
SCDF identified 40 other buildings that could potentially have used panels of the same non-Class 0 type and undertook immediate checks. This was a screening exercise, not a finding that all 40 had identical risks.
Read the primary record ↗One case. Three lines of sight.
Questions for current buildings, inferred from this case. Check local requirements and the building’s actual condition.
Engineer
Trace the specified external wall system to the installed panel and its applicable fire-performance evidence. Where product identity or substitution is unclear, identify the extent that needs investigation.
Fire protection contractor
Match delivery, installation and replacement records to façade locations. Can the actual product, supplier, certificate and any rectification be demonstrated for each affected area?
Brigade
Which elevations and exposure paths are confirmed, and which remain under assessment? Use a dated building intelligence note so a potential cladding issue is visible without treating every screened building as confirmed non-compliant.
What has to connect
Façade location map; product and batch identity; supplier and installer; test and certification evidence; inspection results; recall or rectification instruction and its close-out.
Changes and response
SCDF filed a police report and carried out checks on the other potentially affected buildings. The Ministry of Home Affairs says a cladding review panel examined controls over the product supply chain.
Check current status ↗Singapore’s Fire Safety (Amendment) Act took effect on 14 September 2020. It expanded powers over non-compliant regulated fire safety products across the supply chain, including testing, recall and rectification directions. The ministry discusses Toh Guan as part of the background to these reforms.
Check current status ↗Reviewed 28 September 2026. Legal and inquiry status can change; use the linked authority for the latest position.