Man assisting in police probe after Toa Payoh HDB flat fire
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The Singapore Civil Defence Force forced entry into the affected unit to put out the blaze.
PHOTO: SHIN MIN DAILY NEWS
- A fire broke out in a Toa Payoh HDB flat on Oct 25, and SCDF put it out after forced entry into the second-floor unit. About 10 people were evacuated.
- A 61-year-old man was taken conscious to Singapore General Hospital and is assisting police with investigations into “causing or contributing to risk of dangerous fire”.
- SCDF said another person had minor injuries but refused hospital treatment. Its 2025 report said fires rose 3% to 2,050, with home fires led by unattended cooking and electrical faults.
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SINGAPORE – A 61-year-old man is assisting in police investigations after a fire broke out in an HDB flat in Toa Payoh on the morning of Oct 25.
The man was taken conscious to Singapore General Hospital, and about 10 other residents of the block were evacuated as a safety precaution, said the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) in response to queries on Oct 26.
SCDF said it was alerted to the fire at Block 170 Lorong 1 Toa Payoh around 9.20am on Oct 25.
Its officers forced entry into the second-floor unit and used a fire extinguisher to put out the blaze, which involved items in a bedroom.
Another person was assessed for minor injuries but declined to be taken to hospital, SCDF said.
The police said the 61-year-old is assisting in investigations related to the offence of causing or contributing to the risk of dangerous fire.
The block is listed as a one-room public rental flat on the Housing Board’s website.
A 62-year-old neighbour living on the second floor told Chinese newspaper Shin Min Daily News that she heard the man shouting on Oct 25, and that her granddaughter saw him kicking a hat on the floor and throwing glass bottles.
She told the newspaper that the man has lived in the unit for more than 10 years, adding that he is a friendly person who gets along with neighbours.
According to SCDF’s annual statistics report released in February, the total number of fires increased by 3% from 1,990 in 2024 to 2,050 in 2025.
Of these, 1,051 involved residential buildings in 2025.
Unattended cooking and electrical fires – including faults in electrical wiring or overloaded sockets – remained the top two causes of home fires.