Seven people, including a child and a firefighter, were rushed to the hospital for smoke inhalation and burn injuries after a blaze broke out in a Housing and Development Board (HDB) flat on Tuesday, July 29, in Toa Payoh. The firefighting operations are underway.
Reports stated that the fire in the flat on the 10th floor of Block 229 Toa Payoh Lorong 8 subsequently spread to another unit on the 11th floor of the block.
Although firefighters from the Singapore Civil Defense Force (SCDF) had managed to contain the fire in the 10th-floor apartment, as of 3:22 pm, they were still battling the fire in the apartment on the 11th-floor.
SCDF said in a Facebook post, "The fire in the 10th-floor unit has been brought under control with two water jets," adding, "Firefighters conducted forcible entry into a unit on the 11th floor and are currently fighting a fire in the unit."
SCDF said that they were informed about the incident at about 1.10 pm. According to SCDF, the fire was raging inside the 10th-floor unit when firefighters arrived.
About nine SCDF vehicles, including two ambulances, as well as three police cars were there near the affected block at about 2.15 pm.
Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC MP Saktiandi Supaat said five residents and the firefighter were taken to the Singapore General Hospital. One child was taken to KK Women's and Children's Hospital.
A few window frames were smashed by the heat, and footage showed thick smoke rising from a number of the unit's windows on the tenth floor.
At the base of the structure, charred fragments of debris were visible, including what looked to be a piece of a fallen window frame.
SCDF members were providing oxygen and tending to multiple patients.
Over 100 people had gathered at a nearby basketball court. An elderly lady was also resting on a stretcher chair at a badminton court at the foot of the block, and according to some locals, other people had already been transported to the hospital.
At approximately 4:15 pm, the paramedics were still evaluating a number of residents at the basketball court; some were receiving oxygen and having their blood pressure monitored.
