Bedok Flat Catches Fire While Family Attends Wake Downstairs, Joss Papers Allegedly Fell Onto Burning Candle

Bedok North Flat Catches Fire On 6 Sep While Family Attends To Wake Downstairs

A double tragedy struck a family in Bedok North when their flat burst into flames shortly after the passing of a family member.

Apparently, the residents staying in the unit were attending to the relative’s wake downstairs when joss papers used to cover up the altar fell onto a burning candle.

Upon learning about the fire, an elderly neighbour headed down with the aid of a walking stick to inform the bereaved family, who were putting the wake together.

Bedok flat catches fire while family attends to wake downstairs

According to Shin Min Daily News, the fire took place at about 1.30pm on Tuesday (6 Sep) at Block 201 Bedok North Street 1.

Residents of the fourth-floor unit included the 76-year-old deceased lady, her son Mr Wu, their helper, and another tenant.

At the time of the fire, the family was reportedly tending to the wake of Mr Wu’s mother, who passed away the day before.

When the elderly neighbour headed down to inform them of the fire, Mr Wu’s brother-in-law immediately ran up to the unit.

He opened the door, only to see the altar in the house completely engulfed in flames.

Just as he was about to step into the unit, he heard a loud ‘bang’, along with the sound of breaking glass.

A wave of unbearable heat also came rushing toward him and he had no choice but to shut the door.

In response to MS News’ queries, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said they eventually extinguished the fire using a water jet.

Preliminary investigations indicate that the cause of the fire was an open flame left unattended in the living room.

Thankfully, there were no reported injuries.

Joss paper used to ‘seal’ altar apparently fell onto lighted candle

Speaking to Shin Min Daily News, Mr Wu shared that the fire was likely caused by joss papers that had fallen onto a lighted candle.

Following traditions, the family had apparently ‘sealed’ the altar in their home using red joss paper. The purpose of this was to allow the deceased relative to ‘return home’ before the seventh day of passing.

Mr Wu conceded that he had forgotten to extinguish the candle fire before leaving home, and thus took the blame for the fire.

East Coast GRC MP Tan Kiat How also shared about the incident via a Facebook post on 6 Sep, sharing that the affected residents were housed in a Residents’ Network (RN) centre nearby.

Our hearts are with the affected residents during this trying time. We hope they make it through this difficult time and emerge stronger than before.

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Featured image adapted from Tan Kiat How on Facebook and Google Maps.