2 teens assisting with police investigations after fire breaks out at Punggol playground

SINGAPORE – Two teenage boys are assisting with police investigations after a fire broke out at a playground in Punggol.

The police and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said they were alerted to the fire at Block 308C Punggol Walk at about 9.40pm on Aug 30.

The fire involved some vegetation and plastic pipes on the 14th floor, SCDF said, adding that members of the public had extinguished the blaze using buckets of water before firefighters arrived.

According to Chinese-language news outlet Lianhe Zaobao, the fire was at an open-air playground.

No injuries were reported, but the two boys – aged 15 and 16 – are assisting in a probe relating to causing or contributing to risk of dangerous fire, the police said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

A resident of the estate told Zaobao that she had heard a noise coming from the playground area. She looked out of one of her windows which faces the playground, and saw that a plant trough in the playground was ablaze.

The 40-year-old quickly alerted other residents, who worked together to fetch water and bring the fire under control.

Another resident told Zaobao that the playground was a popular haunt for smokers at night. Residents have been worried about fires possibly breaking out in the area and spreading to their homes, and have escalated the matter to the town council.

The town council has since put up a no-smoking sign at the playground, but the situation has not changed, the news report said.