Woodlands neighbours show ‘kampung spirit’ to put out fire along corridor before SCDF arrival

Woodlands residents rush to extinguish corridor fire, evacuate family as thick smoke fills eighth floor

Woodlands residents sprang into action after a fire broke out along an eighth-floor corridor on Monday (14 Sept), helping evacuate neighbours and extinguish the flames.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it was alerted to the fire at Block 693B, Woodlands Avenue 6, at about 9.35pm.

The fire involved a shoe rack along the common corridor.

Members of the public had extinguished the fire using hosereels before SCDF arrived.

Resident hears loud “boom”

Faith Chong, 30, whose house was on the same level as the affected flat, said she first heard a loud “boom”.

Upon noticing the blaze, she shouted “Fire!!! Fire!!!” then immediately alerted her husband, Jeffrey Lim.

Faith also called the neighbour closest to the fire, knowing that the woman was home with her mother-in-law and two young children.

Faith said the flames were “really big” when she went out to check, before her husband then helped evacuate the family from the affected unit.

Residents grab fire extinguishers and fire hose to help

Jeffrey grabbed a fire extinguisher from their home and tried to put out the flame.

But while the fire initially dampened, the extinguisher eventually ran out.

Jeffrey then helped evacuate the two adults and two children from the affected unit.

The entire eighth floor was subsequently activated, with residents gathering at a common point at the link bridge.

Residents from floors above and below also came out after noticing the commotion.

Faith said the smoke was thick and made it difficult to breathe.

She also thanked a group of teenage boys who found the nearest fire hose and helped put out the fire.

“Thank God there were no casualties,” she said.

Neighbours rush over after seeing flames

Another resident, who lives across from Block 693B, also said they saw the fire and rushed over.

They said the fire was “raging” when they arrived.

The resident then shouted “Level 8 got fire [sic]!” while banging on neighbours’ doors to alert them.

They said the fire was already too large and hot to approach when they arrived.

The resident added that they had happened to be at home eating at the time.

They said they could not imagine what might have happened if they had not been around to raise the alarm.

Resident hopes to help affected family

Faith said she has since spoken to the affected family.

She is now trying to raise funds to help the family through the aftermath of the fire.

“I have spoken to the affected family, they are doing okay,” she told MS News.

“Now, I’m trying to pool funds from other neighbours to help them tide over this difficult period.”

The incident also prompted residents to praise the community’s “kampung spirit”.

SCDF says fire involved shoe rack

SCDF said the fire involved a shoe rack along the common corridor on the eighth floor.

Members of the public had extinguished the fire using hosereels before SCDF arrived.

No injuries were reported, and the cause of the fire is under investigation.

In a statement to MS News, the police said that it received several calls for assistance at Block 693B Woodlands Avenue 6.

Police investigations are ongoing.