Family homeless for CNY after fire caused by mum cooking in kitchen
A fire recently broke out in the kitchen of a Punggol HDB flat while a mother-of-three was cooking.
The family of five escaped the blaze by rushing out of the apartment but is left homeless for Chinese New Year (CNY).
Late-night fire broke out in 13th floor Punggol flat
According to Lianhe Zaobao, the fire occurred at about 11pm on Tuesday (14 Jan) and involved a four-bedroom unit on the 13th floor of Block 229A Sumang Lane.
A nearby resident, 46-year-old Mr Chen (surname transliterated from Chinese), told Lianhe Zaobao that he was resting at home when he heard sirens.
He subsequently headed downstairs to check and found several SCDF vehicles and police cars parked by the roadside. Many residents have also been evacuated.
Source: Lianhe Zaobao
He observed that the walls of the corridor outside the unit were charred, with thick smoke billowing from it.
SCDF personnel were also rushing to put out the fire.
Homeowner thankful that family was unharmed
The homeowner, 40-year-old Mr Yan (surname transliterated from Chinese) said the incident happened very quickly.
While the fire destroyed their home, the family was left unharmed.
He told reporters that he was asleep when the fire broke out, and woke up to the sight of his wife attempting to extinguish the kitchen fire.
Seeing that the fire was out of control, Mr Yan fled with his wife and three children. Once out, he immediately informed his neighbours to evacuate.
About 60 residents evacuated
In response to MS News’ queries, the SCDF confirmed that they were alerted to the fire, which involved an overheated stove, at about 11.05pm.
About 60 residents were evacuated from neighbouring units, with two persons conveyed to Singapore General Hospital. One of them was reportedly Mrs Yan — who sustained burns on her hand — while the other was believed to be a female neighbour.
As the house was severely damaged, the Yan family spent the night at the Residents’ Committees’ office.
Also read: 3 dead after fire engulfs Hougang unit, apartment allegedly belonged to ‘known hoarder’
3 dead after fire engulfs Hougang unit, apartment allegedly belonged to ‘known hoarder’
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Featured image adapted from Lianhe Zaobao and SCDF on Facebook.
