Tampines resident alarmed by ‘two loud explosions’ after fire breaks out during wee hours
A Tampines resident was alarmed when he heard two loud explosions at around 5am on May 20 and realised there was a fire happening three storeys above his home.
Stomper Anonymous, who lives on the seventh floor of Block 366 Tampines Street 34, shared footage of the fire on the 10th storey.
“I thought the explosions were from nearby construction works,” said the Stomper.
“Then the police knocked on my door and asked us to evacuate and proceed to the ground floor. I could smell the burning soot but was still able to breathe.”
The Stomper recalled being filled with panic as he and his wife hurried to the ground floor.
“I wasn’t scared, but feared the fire might spread rapidly to my unit,” he explained.
The Stomper was also terrified for his neighbours, and felt sad that their home and possessions were damaged.
He said he saw a neighbour from the ninth floor attempting to use two fire extinguishers to help put out the blaze, but the fire appeared to be “too strong”.
“At about 8.30am after the fire died out, the police allowed residents to return, but in batches according to unit number,” the Stomper shared, adding that those further away from the affected unit were allowed to return first.
SCDF: 30 residents evacuated, 2 persons sent to hospital
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) confirmed that it was alerted to the fire at around 5.35am.
“The fire, which involved the living room and kitchen in a 10th-floor unit, was extinguished by SCDF using two water jets,” an SCDF spokesperson said.
Two occupants from the affected unit had evacuated before SCDF’s arrival, and about 30 other residents evacuated as a precautionary measure.
“A person from a neighbouring unit was conveyed to Singapore General Hospital due to smoke inhalation.
“During the firefighting operation, a firefighter experienced discomfort on his right leg. He was conveyed to Changi General Hospital as a precautionary measure,” added the spokesperson.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
In its statement, SCDF also said the top three causes of fires in residential premises are:
- unattended cooking
- electrical faults
- unattended lighted materials
Residents should prevent such fires by not leaving cooking unattended, avoid overloading power sockets and refrain from charging devices overnight without supervision.
Lighted materials such as incense or cigarettes should never left be unattended, and must be fully extinguished before disposal.
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