Two taken to hospital, 50 evacuated after fire in Yishun flat; second incident in the area in 3 days
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SINGAPORE – Two people were taken to hospital after a fire broke out in a Housing Board flat in Yishun on Nov 7.
About 50 people were evacuated as a precautionary measure, said the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).
It said in a Facebook post on Nov 7 that it had been alerted to the fire at Block 128 Yishun Street 11 around 1.20pm.
A bedroom in a second-floor flat was on fire when SCDF arrived. Firefighters entered the smoke-filled unit and extinguished the fire with a water jet, the agency said.
Three occupants from the affected flat had evacuated before its firefighters’ arrival, SCDF added.
Three occupants from the affected flat had evacuated before the SCDF arrived.
ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO
Two people from the flat were assessed for smoke inhalation and taken to KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital.
Preliminary findings indicate that the fire had most likely originated from lighted material in the affected bedroom, said SCDF.
The corridor outside the affected unit on the second floor of Block 128 Yishun Street 11.
ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO
At about 4.30pm, Minister for Home Affairs K. Shanmugam, who is an MP for Nee Soon GRC, arrived at the block and spoke with residents from the affected flat.
He was seen speaking with SCDF officers on the ground before making his way to the flat. He also stopped briefly to talk to occupants of the flats near the affected one.
Minister for Home Affairs K. Shanmugam (second from right) speaking with SCDF officers on the ground before making his way to the affected unit.
ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO
Speaking to reporters at the scene, Mr Shanmugam said SCDF had “come in very fast” and put out the fire quickly.
“The room where the fire probably started is very badly damaged, but the other rooms are not so badly affected,” he said, adding that the family was “in a state of shock”.
Two children who were in the affected flat have been hospitalised for observation, “not because they were injured”, he said.
Minister for Home Affairs K. Shanmugam leaving the affected flat.
ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO
The family has been offered temporary accommodation in another block and “will have a unit by tonight”, said Mr Shanmugam. He added that the family is concerned about the cost of repairs and that his team will continue to assist them.
A neighbour whose flat is near the one that caught fire said the owner of the affected unit had evacuated with two children when the fire broke out.
Speaking to The Straits Times, the 42-year-old neighbour, who asked to be known only as Jo, said the owner appeared distraught, holding a mobile phone and crying, and had asked her to call for help.
Another neighbour from another block, who goes by the name Inge, witnessed the incident from afar. The woman, who is in her 40s, was at home when she first smelled smoke. “I thought someone was burning incense,” she said. She quickly went to the third-floor corridor and recorded the burning second-floor flat with her phone.
She added: “When I was recording, the SCDF firefighters arrived and prepared to go up to the unit.”
Inge said the situation was not chaotic and things appeared calm despite the thick smoke. She also saw two police officers going door to door to advise residents to evacuate.
Firefighters entered the smoke-filled unit and extinguished the fire with a water jet.
ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO
This incident comes just two days after another fire linked to a personal mobility device broke out at B lock 475B Yishun Street 44
SCDF reminded the public not to leave lighted materials such as cigarettes and candles unattended.
