20120520 Singapore Neighbors rescue family from burning flat
Singapore May 20 2012 “Apartment houses” “Building” “Houses”
Dead : dead 0 or unknown Burnout : 1 to 29 Injured : injured 0 or unknown
Neighbors rescue family from burning flat
Updated: 2012-05-21-10:51
Sirajul Islam, 47, had just gone to bed about an hour earlier when, at about 4.30 a.m. on Sunday, he heard shouts from outside his flat.
At first, he thought it was a domestic squabble – these were common in his Housing Board (HDB) block in Tah Ching Road, he said – but the shouts grew louder.
Peering out his bedroom window, Sirajul saw thick smoke rising from a unit below his. Alarmed, he called the police and rushed downstairs.
The minimart owner said he was shocked by what he found next: Five fearful faces crowding the door of a flat on the 15th floor.
Flames were licking the ceiling of the living room inside.
‘The smoke was very thick, and I was just thinking how fast I could bring the people out,’ said Sirajul.
Among the faces were Liew Soon Huat, his sister Siew Lay, their father Liew Hoon Pooi, and their 90-year-old grandmother.
Sirajul, a permanent resident, was soon joined by two other neighbors – Neo Cheng Huat, 83, and his son Hiap Ann, 42 – who lived opposite the flat.
Together they tried to save the family, who were trapped behind the front door, stunned.
Sirajul said: ‘The metal grille was latched, and we shouted to the people inside for the key.’
They were rescued after someone flung out the key, which Sirajul used to unlock the grille.
The family trapped in the blaze were six people – Mr Liew, his two sisters, parents and grandmother. Everyone survived but they are currently hospitalized.
Firefighters, who arrived shortly at the scene, were able to extinguish the fire in eight minutes, a statement from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said.
SCDF added that it was investigating the cause of the fire.
When The Straits Times visited the four-room flat in Taman Jurong on Sunday, all the furniture in the living room was burnt.
The ceiling in the common corridor and the Neos’ living room was also blackened by soot.
Liew Soon Huat and his sister Siew Lay are now warded at Singapore General Hospital’s (SGH) burns centre. Both have up to 26 per cent burns on their faces, hands, backs and legs – they are expected to undergo skin graft operations in the coming days.
Liew’s mother and grandmother are in SGH’s high dependency-ward with less severe burns on their hands and upper backs.
Meanwhile, Liew’s father, Hoon Pooi, and his other sister are at the National University Hospital for smoke inhalation – to be discharged today or tomorrow.
Sirajul and the younger Mr Neo, meanwhile, have been discharged after being sent to the hospital for smoke inhalation.
Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, an MP for Jurong GRC, visited Sirajul and the Neos on Sunday afternoon in their homes and commended them for their bravery.
‘Fortunately, the neighbors were very quick to move in to assist, because the family was understandably in a state of confusion,’ he said, adding the fire was not caused by items in the corridor.
The minister also visited the Liew family, and told them HDB would provide temporary accommodation and help to clean up the gutted flat.
Financial help will also be extended to them via grassroots organisations, he added.
Sirajul said that although he was shocked, he was able to calm his nerves because he had fought a similar blaze last year.
Coincidentally, the former restaurant owner had made headlines two weeks ago for being fined $63,000 for fire safety violations – it was the largest-ever fine given for the infraction.
His experience in fighting a massive blaze at his Little India restaurant last August – involving an explosion fuelled by a gas cylinder – actually helped him, he said.
‘I was just very happy to help, and am glad there are no casualties.’
The Jakarta Post
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/05/21/neighbors-rescue-family-burning-flat.html