10 injured after fire engulfs Whampoa HDB flat

Brothers Muhammad Huzaimi Zuraimi (far left), 22, and Muhammad Haiqal Zuraimi, 23, both residents of the affected flat in Jalan Tenteram, salvaging their belongings yesterday afternoon. ST PHOTO: DESMOND WEE
Brothers Muhammad Huzaimi Zuraimi (left), 22, and Muhammad Haiqal Zuraimi, 23, both residents of the affected flat in Jalan Tenteram, salvaging their belongings yesterday afternoon. ST PHOTO: DESMOND WEE

Ten people, three of them children, were injured and suffered smoke inhalation after a fire broke out at a Housing Board flat in Whampoa yesterday.

They were subsequently taken to hospital, said the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) in a Facebook post.

The SCDF said it was alerted to a fire at Block 22 Jalan Tenteram at around 9am. "The fire was raging and had engulfed a residential unit on the second floor," it said.

Six people in the affected unit managed to leave the flat before the SCDF arrived.

Two of them were found on the ground floor with injuries.

They were attended to by a paramedic and crew from the SCDF's Emergency Medical Services.

At the same time, firefighters from Central Fire Station extinguished the fire using one water jet and two compressed air foam backpacks.

About 100 people from the block were evacuated by the SCDF and the police.

A few units next to and above the affected unit sustained heat and smoke damage, the SCDF said.

"Preliminary investigation into the cause of the fire indicates that it was of electrical origin from the living room," it added.

Mr Muhammad Haiqal Zuraimi, 23, a resident of the affected unit, told The Straits Times that he was on his way home when the fire broke out.

"I was shocked to see smoke coming out of the flat and firefighters trying to put it out. Thankfully, my family members managed to get out in time."

He said that six members of his family were taken to the hospital: his mother, stepfather, two brothers, aged 15 and 16, his 18-year-old sister and her three-month-old baby.

He said he went back to the charred two-room flat late yesterday afternoon to salvage his personal belongings and clothes.

He will be staying with his friends temporarily while the flat is cleaned up.

In a video of the incident circulating online, black columns of smoke can be seen rising from one of the flat's windows. A firefighter on the ground floor can be seen using a water jet to put out the fire.

In response to queries, Senior Minister of State Heng Chee How, an MP for Jalan Besar GRC, said yesterday that he met one of the children of the affected family, along with grassroots leaders and the Whampoa Welfare Committee.

"We're in close touch with him and his family, as well as other families in the surrounding units. We will coordinate our efforts to help them," he said.

When asked if any residents have requested emergency accommodation, Mr Heng said that the HDB is in contact with the affected families.

"Some of the families are checking with their relatives to see if they can live with them in the interim, but HDB stands ready to offer them flats to stay in temporarily," he said.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on March 01, 2021, with the headline 10 injured after fire engulfs Whampoa HDB flat. Subscribe