One person was rushed to hospital after a fire broke out in a Housing Board (HDB) flat in Bukit Merah on January 24, prompting the evacuation of about 70 residents as a precautionary measure.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said that it was alerted to the incident at around 5.30 pm at Block 103B Depot Road. Upon arrival, firefighters observed thick black smoke billowing from a unit on the 12th floor.
SCDF said no one was inside the affected flat at the time. The fire, which originated in one of the rooms, was extinguished using two water jets. However, the rest of the unit sustained heat and smoke damage as a result of the blaze.
A person from the affected unit, who had evacuated before SCDF arrived, later felt unwell and was conveyed to Singapore General Hospital for treatment.
As a safety measure, police and SCDF evacuated approximately 70 people from the block. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.
In a Facebook post on the same day, Tanjong Pagar GRC MP Rachel Ong, who oversees Telok Blangah, said she had been informed of the fire and was in contact with the flat owner. She added that the family was safe.
Ong also said that the Tanjong Pagar Town Council had conducted safety checks and confirmed that corridor lighting from levels 1 to 20, as well as water and electricity supply, remained fully operational. Both lifts in the block were also functioning normally.
"Our agencies will continue to provide close support to the affected family during this time," Ong said, as quoted by The Straits Times, adding that her team would follow up with residents in the block through house visits in the coming week.
SCDF reiterated that unattended cooking, electrical faults and unattended lighted materials are among the leading causes of residential fires. Residents are advised not to leave cooking unattended, avoid overloading power sockets or charging devices overnight without supervision, and ensure that lighted materials such as incense or cigarettes are fully extinguished before disposal.
