Altar catches fire in McNair Road block: Stomper evacuates with dad and maid, goes to McDonald's
A prayer altar caught fire at Block 112 McNair Road in the early morning of Aug 22, resulting in two people taken to the hospital.
Stomper Philip, who lives in the block, posted on Instagram that he was woken up by shouts.
At first, he thought it was his parents, but his mother was in the hospital and his father was sound asleep along with the maid.
"I almost went back to bed until the call came from my neighbour, a fire had broken out just one floor below," he wrote in the post.
"We were evacuated by police and firemen from Level 4 upwards, resting every few floors and helping other elderly along the way.
"Neighbours came together, offering chairs, guiding one another, making sure no one was left behind."
In response to a Stomp query, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it was alerted to the fire at about 4am.
By the time SCDF arrived, members of the public had extinguished the fire using buckets of water and a dry powder extinguisher.
One person was taken to Singapore General Hospital while another to Tan Tock Seng Hospital.
SCDF added that the fire involved a shelf outside a flat on the 10th storey.
Jalan Besar GRC MP Shawn Loh posted on social media the next day that a prayer altar had caught fire at the block.
"Thanks to the vigilance and courage of the neighbours, the fire was all but put out with water and a fire extinguisher before SCDF arrived. Other neighbours went door to door to wake people up to evacuate," wrote Mr Loh in his post.
The Stomper reflected in his post: "In moments like this, I’m reminded that even in a crisis, we are not alone.
"We ended the night at McDonald’s, tired but safe. My prayers go out to families affected, may they find peace and comfort."
SCDF said the cause of the fire is under investigation.
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