Five adults and fifteen children were rushed to hospital after a fire broke out on Tuesday morning at a cooking school in River Valley Road in Singapore’s south.

A 10-year-old girl later died in hospital.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) confirmed today that they were giving assistance to the family of an Australian who had died.

“We send our deepest condolences to the family at this difficult time. Owing to our privacy obligations, we are unable to provide further comment,” a DFAT spokesperson said.

The Singaporean Civil Defence Force (SCDF) was alerted to the fire at a three-storey building about 9.45am on Monday.

Several people were forced onto a third-storey ledge outside the building by the flames.

They had to be rescued from the flames by construction workers, who brought scaffolding and a ladder to help them down before firefighters could bring them down with their ladders.

Firefighters put out the fire within half an hour.

According to the SCDF, 80 people were evacuated from the building, which is home to a cooking school that runs cooking camps for school-aged children.

The business, Tomato Cooking School, said they were working with authorities after the fire.

“We are deeply saddened and shocked by the fire that occurred at the shophouse,” they said in a statement posted to their Facebook page on Wednesday.

“Our thoughts are with all the families and individuals affected during this difficult time.

The cooking school said they were cooperating with a police investigation into the cause of the fire.

“We cannot express our sadness in words for the affected families and what they are going through,” they said.

The SCDF said on Wednesday night that the fire appeared to have started in a storage area on the second storey of the building.

They said they had found a number of “fire safety non-compliances” in the building.

“Preliminary investigations also found fire safety non-compliances, including unauthorised works involving the erection of partitions within the premises,” the SCDF said.

“SCDF takes a very serious view of fire safety non-compliances, as they pose significant risks to lives and property. The responsible entity may face a fine of up to $200,000, imprisonment of up to 24 months, or both.”

The investigation into the fire is ongoing.