88-year-old man dies after being trapped by fire in Farrer Park flat, 4 others hospitalised

3 sent to hospital unconscious after being rescued from Farrer Park fire

An 88-year-old man has died, two days after being trapped inside a flat in Farrer Park after a fire broke out on Monday (3 Aug) night.

He was among five flat occupants sent to the hospital after the incident, said the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) in a Facebook post on the same night.

Flames & smoke emitted from burning flat

A TikTok of the incident showed flames and black smoke coming from a flat on the fifth floor of Block 684 Race Course Road.

The smoke was so thick that it filled the courtyard next to the block.

Soon, firefighters showed up and entered the burning unit.

Also present were several police officers who were seen running down the corridors of the block, possibly attempting to evacuate residents.

On the other side, a firefighter was seen directly spraying the flat’s window from the ground with a hose, according to a video on XiaoHongShu.

Police officers rescue woman from flat

In response to queries from MS News, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said it was alerted to the fire at about 7.10pm on 3 Aug.

Officers from Rochor Neighbourhood Police Centre rushed over and found a residential unit on fire.

After establishing that several persons were trapped inside, the officers forcibly entered the locked unit and rescued a woman.

About 50 residents were evacuated from the block.

Bedroom of 5th-floor Farrer Park flat catches fire

SCDF, which was alerted to the fire at the same time, found the bedroom of a fifth-floor unit on fire when they arrived.

Five persons, aged between 55 and 88, were found trapped in the flat during the firefighting operation, including the woman who was rescued by the police.

The other four people were rescued by the SCDF.

The fire was eventually put out with a water jet.

Three out of five rescued were unconscious

However, out of the five people rescued, three of them were unconscious, including the woman rescued by the police and an 88-year-old man.

All five were sent to the hospital, with three conveyed to Singapore General Hospital while the other two were conveyed to Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

However, the 88-year-old man passed away in the hospital on Wednesday (5 Aug).

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

MP conveys her condolences to family of deceased

In a Facebook post, Jalan Besar GRC MP Denise Phua conveyed her deepest condolences to the family of the deceased.

As for the other hospitalised family members, it would be “a while more” before they can be discharged, she said.

She praised the police and SCDF for managing the fire “well” and containing it within the flat.

MS Phua also mentioned that it would take some time for the affected flat to be restored.

In the meantime, Community Development Council and People’s Association staff will try to furnish a rental flat identified by HDB for their temporary occupation.

Also read: Resident dies after being trapped in Clementi fire, 2 firefighters sent to hospital

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Featured image adapted from Singapore Civil Defence Force on Facebook.