20230626 Passer-by who helped evacuate residents taken to hospital after Hougang flat fire
Singapore Jun 06 2023 “Apartment houses” “Building”
Dead : dead 0 or unknown Burnout : 1 to 29 Injured : injured 1 to 9
Passer-by who helped evacuate residents taken to hospital after Hougang flat fire
Updated: 2023-06-26
SCDF firefighters found the fire raging in a bedroom of a 13th-storey Housing Board flat at Block 308 Hougang Avenue 5. PHOTOS: SINGAPORE CIVIL DEFENCE FORCE/FACEBOOK
SINGAPORE – One person was taken to hospital and about 10 residents evacuated after a flat in Hougang caught fire on Sunday.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it was alerted to the blaze at about 7.30pm and its firefighters arrived to find the fire raging in a bedroom of a 13th-storey Housing Board flat at Block 308 Hougang Avenue 5.
Equipped with breathing apparatus, firefighters entered the smoke-logged unit and extinguished the fire with a water jet.
The occupant managed to get out of the flat before the firefighters arrived, SCDF said on Facebook.
The person was later assessed by paramedics for smoke inhalation, but declined to be taken to hospital.
As a safety precaution, the police evacuated about 10 residents from nearby units.
A passer-by who helped to evacuate other residents was also assessed for smoke inhalation and taken to Singapore General Hospital.
An eyewitness who wanted to be known only as Mr Tan said he was at a block opposite the one where the fire was, but noticed the blaze only when he heard sirens nearby.
“There was thick black smoke coming out of the windows,” said the 29-year-old communications manager, adding that he heard popping sounds from the fire.
About 50 people gathered at the area between both blocks, he added, but by 8.10pm, most onlookers had dispersed.
Preliminary investigations indicate that the fire may be of electrical origin.
The number of electrical fires rose by 18.8 per cent to 228 cases in 2022, according to SCDF’s annual report released in February.
Most of these fires were caused by electrical faults in wiring or electrical appliances, or due to the overloading of electrical sockets.
Web Source: The Straits Times