Two treated after lab fire

Two people have been discharged from hospital after being treated for smoke inhalation following a laboratory fire at the National University of Singapore.

The blaze broke out in the engineering faculty located at Block EW2 at about 10pm last Friday.

A graduate student, who had been in the laboratory, and a security officer were taken to the National University Hospital.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force was alerted to the blaze at 10.15pm. Firefighters took 11/2 hours to put out the fire, which had engulfed the level-six laboratory.

An NUS spokesman said "the safety and well-being of our staff and students are our top priorities". The university is providing assistance to those affected by the incident, she added.

The cause of the fire is being investigated.

At least two other fires have been reported on NUS grounds in the past two years - one involved a projector that caught fire, and the other began in an engineering research laboratory and led to the evacuation of 100 people with four being hurt.

This article was published on April 6 in The Straits Times.

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