A fire broke out at a row of terraced houses in Joo Chiat in the early hours of Wednesday, December 17, leaving one person hospitalised for smoke inhalation and forcing the evacuation of about 20 residents as a precaution.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said that it was alerted to the blaze along Chiku Road at about 4 am. The fire involved three single-storey terraced units and had spread to adjacent houses by the time firefighters arrived at the scene.
One person who inhaled smoke was taken to Singapore General Hospital for treatment. Police officers and SCDF personnel evacuated residents from the affected homes and nearby units to ensure their safety.
Firefighters worked to contain the blaze by setting up water jets around the affected houses.
At the height of the operation, a total of seven water jets were deployed. SCDF also used a combined platform ladder to conduct aerial firefighting and prevent the fire from spreading further. The fire was brought under control and extinguished at about 6.45 am.
SCDF said that six neighbouring terraced units suffered varying degrees of burn damage. Damping down operations — a process involving the application of water to burnt surfaces to prevent rekindling — were ongoing after the fire was put out.
According to reports, the stretch of Joo Chiat Place between Still Road and Rambutan Road remained cordoned off at around 8 am.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
