One person was taken to hospital, and 24 others were evacuated after a fire broke out in a bedroom of a 16th-floor HDB unit in Bukit Batok on Tuesday morning, December 30.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it was alerted to the fire at Block 288A Bukit Batok Street 25 at about 10.55 am. Firefighters arrived at the scene and found the blaze confined to a bedroom within the flat.
The fire was extinguished using two water jets, SCDF said. While the flames were contained within the bedroom, the rest of the unit sustained heat and smoke damage.
Four occupants from the affected flat had evacuated on their own before firefighters arrived. As a precaution, the police and SCDF evacuated a further 20 residents from the block.
One person who felt unwell following the incident was conveyed to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital for medical treatment. No other injuries were reported.
Preliminary investigations indicate that the fire was likely caused by an electrical fault in the affected bedroom, SCDF said. A small crowd later gathered at a nearby multipurpose hall, including a woman in her late 40s who identified herself as the owner of the affected unit.
The incident comes amid continued concerns over residential fire safety. According to SCDF's annual statistics report released on February 13, there were 968 residential fire-related calls in 2024. Of these, 299 fires were attributed to electrical causes, while 335 were linked to unattended cooking, making them the two leading causes of residential fires.
The number of fires caused by electrical sources rose by 8.3% in 2024 compared with the previous year, highlighting the importance of regular checks on electrical appliances and wiring.
