Fire breaks out again at Jurong East flat a day after deadly blaze

A fire broke out again at a ninth-storey flat in Jurong East yesterday morning, a day after a blaze that killed a man there was put out by firefighters.

According to a statement by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), it was alerted to the second fire at Block 236 Jurong East Street 21 at about 5am yesterday.

It was found that the fire had started in one of the bedrooms of the four-room flat, likely reignited by deep-seated embers within the rubble.

Firefighters used a water jet to extinguish the flames.

When The Straits Times arrived at the scene at about 1.30pm, SCDF operations were still ongoing.

Cleaners were seen carrying debris from the fire, including burnt furniture and fans, out of the unit.

A resident living on the floor below the affected unit, who wanted to be known only as Mrs Lim, 44, said she could detect the smell of smoke at about 5am yesterday.

"We had a feeling it was the same unit, and that the fire probably started from all the things that they had collected. I don't think it was as bad as Tuesday, but we still evacuated and went downstairs," she said.

There were no reported injuries from the second fire.

On Tuesday, a 48-year-old man died after the unit caught fire. Another person who lived in the flat managed to escape before firefighters arrived.

Three residents from a neighbouring flat had to be rescued by firefighters after clutter along the common corridor left by owners of the affected unit caught fire, blocking their exit path.

Affected residents have been provided with alternative accommodation in the vicinity and will be given assistance, said a spokesman for the Housing Board.

The first fire was fully extinguished in about five hours.

Damping-down operations, involving the application of water to burnt surfaces to prevent potential rekindling of fires, were conducted for about eight hours after the first fire was extinguished, the SCDF said then.

But damping down does not completely eliminate the possibility of reignition, said Mr Han Wenqi, a registered workplace safety and health officer.

"Damping via water jet could cover the majority of external surfaces of burnt objects, but does not submerge them in the water entirely. Extinguishing the fire with foam could contain embers, but that is mostly used for chemical and electrical fires," said the freelance fire safety manager.

He added that common household items, such as wood, paper and vegetable oil, are fuels that can react with oxygen and heat from unsubmerged portions of embers. Gases are then released from this reaction, which may lead to reignition.

In 2016, a similar case occurred when two fires broke out at Boat Quay within the span of a few hours. The first fire broke out at The Penny Black pub at 10am and the second around noon at Harry's Bar next door.