5 People Hospitalised After Fire Breaks Out At Bukit Merah
Apartment fires are fortunately a rare occurrence, but it’s always devastating when one happens. On Wednesday (30 Mar), a fire broke out at a HDB flat in Bukit Merah.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) responded to the incident at 11.45am and deployed firefighters from both the Central Fire Station and Alexandra Fire Station.
The SCDF also sent five people to Singapore General Hospital (SGH) for burn injuries or smoke inhalation.
Elderly couple lived in burnt Bukit Merah flat
According to The Straits Times (ST), the Block 121 Bukit Merah View unit was occupied by an elderly couple in their 80s.
A total of 37 people, including the couple, evacuated the building. Residents could only return home at about 5pm.
ST reports that the corridor outside the burnt flat, which stretches across four units and the lift landing, was completely charred.
The void deck of the block was also cordoned off to prevent others from entering the area.
SCDF extinguished fire with a water jet
SCDF’s Facebook post states that they were alerted to the fire at around 11.45am on Wednesday (30 Mar).
They deployed firefighters from both Alexandra Fire Station and the Central Fire Station to assist with the fire.
By the time firefighters arrived, the blaze was already raging in the living room-slash-bedroom of the second floor unit.
After equipping themselves with breathing apparatus sets, they entered the unit and extinguished the flames with water jets.
The SCDF conveyed five people to SGH. One sustained burn injuries while the other four suffered from smoke inhalation.
SCDF is currently investigating the cause of the fire.
A close call
Kudos to SCDF for responding to the emergency so efficiently and preventing more injuries.
Hopefully, they can determine the cause of the fire soon so that similar incidents won’t happen again.
MS News wishes those injured a smooth and speedy recovery.
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Featured image adapted from Joan Pereira on Facebook and Singapore Civil Defence Force on Facebook.
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