Punggol HDB block sees 2 fires on the same night, child believed to have started blaze
Fires broke out on the fourth and ninth floors of a Housing and Development Board (HDB) block in Punggol on May 1, with a child believed to have started one of the blazes while playing with a lighter.
Over 30 people were evacuated from the residential building.
According to Shin Min Daily News, the incidents occurred at around 8pm at Block 223A Sumang Lane in Punggol.
When reporters arrived, several police and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) vehicles were parked near the block. A bedroom in a fourth-floor unit was severely burnt, with clothes, mattresses, and a wardrobe visibly charred.
The living room walls, as well as furniture such as cabinets and a refrigerator, were also stained with soot.
Family evacuates after noticing fire
Lianhe Zaobao understands that the fire on the ninth floor occurred first, followed by a separate fire in the fourth-floor unit.
Speaking to the media, the male occupant of the fourth-floor unit, Mr Si De Nian (transliterated), said he was asleep with his wife, Ms He (transliterated), and their two-year-old son at the time. Their older son was awake and playing in the room.
“I had just returned from work and went to sleep. Suddenly, I felt heat on my feet and realised the house was on fire,” the 35-year-old delivery rider said.
Mr Si said he immediately woke his family up and rushed them out of the house, while attempting to extinguish the fire with a hose. However, he was forced to leave as the blaze spread rapidly and thick smoke filled the unit.
“When I left the room, smoke had already filled the living room. The smell was very pungent and visibility was very poor,” he said.
As he was leaving, he heard a bedroom window shattering. He also switched off the power supply to a mobility aid device that was charging outside the unit and asked a neighbour to call for help.
Mr Si, who has lived at the unit for eight years, said the blaze was believed to have started when his son used a lighter to burn tissue paper. The fire then reportedly spread to diapers lying nearby and a mattress.
His wife, 35-year-old Ms He, said she had briefly seen the boy playing with a lighter and had sternly reprimanded him, but did not expect the situation to escalate.
The boy was later seen sitting silently on a bench at the void deck, with his head lowered.
“Everything in the house has been destroyed. We do not know when we can move back,” Mr Si said.
Four people conveyed to hospital
In response to Stomp’s queries, SCDF said it was alerted to the ninth-floor fire, which involved discarded items along the corridor, at about 6:50pm.
It was alerted to the fire on the fourth floor at about 7.40pm, which was extinguished with hosereels.
Four persons were assessed for smoke inhalation — three were conveyed to KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital and one was sent to Singapore General Hospital.
Two firefighters who felt unwell during the firefighting operation were conveyed to Singapore General Hospital as a precautionary measure. Both have been discharged from the hospital.
The cause of the fires is under investigation.
Two fires in a night
A seventh-floor resident, Ms Wali (transliterated), a 33-year-old cashier, told Shin Min she was frightened that both incidents occurred on the same night.
She said she first heard residents shouting that there was a fire from the ninth floor and saw three fire engines at the site. Shortly after, a loud bang was heard from the fourth floor, followed by thick smoke.
“We were all shocked. SCDF officers who were still investigating the ninth floor immediately rushed down to the fourth floor. Another three fire engines were later deployed,” she said.
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