5 taken to hospital after fire breaks out in Bukit Merah flat

Five people were taken to Singapore General Hospital after a fire broke out in a Housing Board flat in Bukit Merah yesterday.

One had burn injuries while the other four suffered from smoke inhalation, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said in a Facebook post.

SCDF was alerted to the fire at Block 121 Bukit Merah View around 11.45am. When firefighters reached the second storey, fire was raging in the one-room unit.

"Firefighters from Alexandra Fire Station and Central Fire Station donned breathing apparatus sets and carefully manoeuvred their way into the heavily smoky unit," said SCDF in its post. The fire was extinguished with a water jet. The rest of the unit was affected by heat and smoke damage, it said.

Two people in the affected unit had evacuated before the firefighters' arrival. About 35 residents were evacuated by the police and SCDF.

SCDF is investigating the cause of the fire.

When The Straits Times visited the block at about 9pm, the smell of smoke still hung in the air. Outside the burnt flat, the common corridor - which stretches across about four units and the lift landing - was charred.

Mr Ler Ah Yam, 60, who lives in the unit next door, was wiping the soot off his front gate when ST spoke to him. He said a couple in their 80s live in the burnt unit.

He added that he was at work in Jurong Island at the time of the fire and was not carrying his cellphone then. He heard about the fire only at about 8pm when a friend called him. He reached home at about 8.30pm.

"I've lived here for 50 years and it is the first time there has been a fire," said Mr Ler in Mandarin. "I don't have much at home so I didn't incur any losses. I'm just waiting for the authorities to repaint the corridor."

Ms Joan Pereira, an MP for Tanjong Pagar GRC, told ST the elderly couple were taken to hospital.

She said in a Facebook post that she joined the Henderson-Dawson Community Emergency and Engagement Committee and Bukit Merah View Zone B Residents' Committee to assist and reassure the residents, many of whom are elderly.

Ms Pereira said the Tanjong Pagar Town Council has started cleaning the affected areas, and will also be assessing damaged areas for expedited repair works.

"They will also be assisting affected residents with their needs," she added.