Man killed in pre-dawn fire at Jurong East flat

A 48-year-old man has died after a flat in Jurong East caught fire in the early hours of yesterday morning.

Firefighters were alerted to the fire at the ninth-storey flat at Block 236 Jurong East Street 21 at about 2.50am. They had to force their way into the smoke-filled unit to fight the blaze.

Another person who lived in the flat managed to get out before the firefighters arrived, said the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) in a Facebook post.

Neighbours said the man and woman who lived in the flat were siblings.

Three residents in a neighbouring flat were rescued by firefighters.

One of the three, who wanted to be known only as Mr Sunil, 56, said the residents of the flat that caught fire had a habit of keeping things, such as household appliances and bags, in the common corridor.

The information technology analyst added that he had raised the issue many times since 2012 with the Jurong Town Council and the Housing Board, but it was never resolved.

Another neighbour, student Jeremy Yeo, 22, who lives one floor down, said he woke up to the strong smell of smoke.

He added that he knew one of the residents who lived in the affected unit - a woman who used to sell newspapers at a nearby bus stop.

Mr Yeo said: "We did not have much interaction but my sister and I would say hello to her whenever we passed each other."

The firefighters wore breathing apparatus and used three water jets to put out the fire, and a special platform ladder was deployed to help firefighting efforts, said the SCDF. The fire was fully extinguished in about five hours.

An elderly couple who live in the unit directly below the affected flat said a woman living in the flat that caught fire visited their home often and gave them food.

The couple's middle-aged son, who declined to be named, said his father was awakened by the sound of a loud explosion.

He said his father knew a unit in the block had caught fire when he looked out of his window - the fire was burning brightly in the night. That was when he ran out to alert the neighbours.

Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu, the MP for Yuhua SMC, where the affected unit is located, told reporters at the scene that priority will be given to taking care of those affected by the incident. "It is a very unfortunate situation here... We need to understand the cause of this fire, and see how we can help prevent such a serious fire from happening again."

In May, three people, including a three-year-old child, died in a fire in a Bedok North flat.

In the first four months of this year, the SCDF responded to 339 fire incidents at residential pre-mises - a 6.9 per cent drop from the 364 in the same period last year.

An investigation to determine the cause of yesterday's fire has begun.