Trash at lobby catches fire

SINGAPORE - She wasn't sure if it was her own stove the was the source of the smoke.

Madam Kalsom Zainal, 34, was cooking when she smelled smoke and thought she had burnt something.

It was only when she turned around to find her third-storey unit in Block 25 Jalan Berseh enveloped in smoke, that she realised something was wrong.

A fire had broken out at the third-storey lift lobby of the block on Saturdayafternoon.

She said she heard the crackling of the wires as they burnt and knew it was a serious fire.

Madam Kalsom said: "I heard something go 'pop pop' and I just knew I had to leave.

"I immediately asked my parents to get out and carried my son to the playground downstairs," said Madam Kalsom.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force received a call about the fire at 1.48pm. While no one was hurt, police said that 20 people were evacuated from the block.

SCDF said discarded items at the lift lobby were on fire. The blaze was extinguished within 10 minutes with a waterjet.

When The New Paper on Sunday arrived at the scene, the entire lift lobby was a charred mess. Tiles were strewn on the floor, and electrical wiring hung from the ceiling.

Residents trying to return to their flats found it hard to come out of the lift as the doors could not open fully.

Among the items that caught fire were shopping trolleys, a sofa, and small cupboards.

Madam Amy Soo, whose home is just two units from the lift lobby, told TNPS that she believes it was probably a cigarette that caused the fire.

The items are thought to belong to one family who were not at home on Saturday afternoon Incidents of fire fell to a 15-year low in the first half of this year, continuing a three-year decline, SCDF revealed last month in its half-year report.

The 2,125 fires that happened from January to June were a 3 per cent drop from the same period last year, and no deaths were reported.

In 97 per cent of this year's cases, the fires were put out without anyone suffering a burn injury.

More than 70 per cent of fires occurred in residential premises.

Fires involving discarded items in common residential areas such as corridors and void decks also fell slightly, but still made up a fifth of the 1,541 residential fires.

From next month, the SCDF will have the power to issue composition fines of up to $5,000 - up from the current $500 - for fire safety offences.

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