20220331 5 people taken to hospital after fire breaks out in Bukit Merah flat
Singapore Mar 31 2022 “Apartment houses” “Building”
Dead : dead 0 or unknown Burnout : 1 to 29 Injured : injured 1 to 9
5 people taken to hospital after fire breaks out in Bukit Merah flat
Updated: 2022-03-31
The fire was extinguished with a water jet. The rest of the unit was affected by heat and smoke damage. ST PHOTO: KOK YUFENG
SINGAPORE – Five people were taken to Singapore General Hospital after a fire broke out in a Housing Board flat in Bukit Merah on Wednesday (March 30).
One of them had burn injuries while the other four suffered from smoke inhalation, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said in a Facebook post.
SCDF said it was alerted to the fire at Block 121 Bukit Merah View at around 11.45am. When firefighters reached the second storey of the block, fire was raging in the living room-cum-bedroom of the one-room unit.
“Firefighters from Alexandra Fire Station and Central Fire Station donned breathing apparatus sets and carefully manoeuvred their way into the heavily smoky unit,” said SCDF in its post.
The fire was extinguished with a water jet. The rest of the unit was affected by heat and smoke damage, it said.
Two people in the affected unit had evacuated before SCDF’s arrival. About 35 residents were subsequently evacuated by the police and SCDF.
SCDF is investigating the cause of the fire.
When The Straits Times visited the block at about 9pm on Wednesday, the smell of smoke still hung in the air.
The corridor outside the burnt flat – which stretches across about four units and the lift landing – was charred. The void deck area below was cordoned off and the floor was wet.
Mr Ler Ah Yam, 60, who lives in the unit next door, was wiping the soot off his front gate when ST spoke to him.
He said an elderly couple in their 80s live in the burnt unit. He added that he was at work in Jurong Island at the time of the fire and did not have his mobile phone.
He heard about the fire only at about 8pm when a friend called him and told him what had happened. He reached home at about 8.30pm.
“I’ve lived here for 50 years and it is the first time there has been a fire,” said Mr Ler in Mandarin. “I don’t have much at home so I didn’t incur any losses. I’m just waiting for the authorities to repaint the corridor.”
Ms Joan Pereira, an MP for Tanjong Pagar GRC, told ST that the elderly couple in the affected unit were taken to hospital.
She said in a Facebook post on Wednesday night that she joined the Henderson-Dawson Community Emergency and Engagement Committee and Bukit Merah View Zone B Residents’ Committee to assist and reassure residents of the block, many of whom are elderly.
“Thank you to the Tanjong Pagar Town Council team who has commenced cleanup of the affected areas, and they will also be assessing damaged areas for expedited repair works. They will also be assisting affected residents with their needs,” she added.
Mr M. Jeevan, 77, who also lives on the second storey, said he was evacuated from his home by firefighters.
He did not see the fire but said smoke was billowing out from the burning unit when he left his home.
The retiree was asked to go to a nearby carpark, where he waited for a few hours with about 15 to 20 people.
He was allowed to return home, which was not affected by the blaze, at about 5pm.
Web Source: The Straits Times