Number of fires rose slightly in 2012, mostly due to discarded items
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A firefighter tries to put out a raging fire, which had broken out in a warehouse storing barrels of detergent-based concentrate at Upper Bukit Timah Road on Nov 12, 2012. There were 4,485 fires last year, just a notch from the 4,470 cases recorded in 2011. -- PHOTO: SINGAPORE CIVIL DEFENCE FORCE
There were 4,485 fires last year, just a notch from the 4,470 cases recorded in 2011.
Almost half of the cases reported in 2012 involved discarded items and and fires in rubbish chutes, said the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) during the release of its annual statistics on Thursday.
The SCDF said that the number of fires in multi-storey carparks and other public venues such as schools and playgrounds was also up, often due to discarded items catching fire.
Some 202 vehicles were also burned last year, a 7 per cent increase from 188 in the previous year.
