Woman's washing machine catches fire

The burnt smell that engulfed her Bukit Panjang flat came from an unlikely source: the back of her washing machine.

But the small fire soon engulfed the appliance and melted her bathroom door, filling her flat with smoke.

She called the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) and its firefighters were quick to put out the fire.

The 42-year-old housewife, who declined to be named, said her Samsung washing machine caught fire at her four-room flat in Block 469, Segar Road, on Wednesday morning.

She was alone in her living room when a burnt smell wafted in from the kitchen at about 11.30am.

She traced the source of the smell to the bathroom in the kitchen, where she had only minutes earlier put in a load of towels in her top-load washing machine.

"When I peered in, I saw a small fire behind my washing machine. I was shocked," she said.

"My first instinct was to call the authorities. I was told to stay outside of my flat."

She rushed out of her flat, closed the door and stood near the lift, which was about 20 to 30m away.

"The SCDF came very fast, I think in less than 10 minutes," she said.

"When the firefighters opened the door, I saw thick, black smoke billowing through it."

SCDF sent one fire engine, two Red Rhinos, two fire bikes and one support vehicle to the scene. The firefighters used compressed air foam to put out the fire.

"When I was out of the flat, my first thought was not my possessions, it was: 'Thank God my child was not around,'" she said.

Her 16-year-old daughter was at a shop downstairs while her technician husband, 51, was at work.

Read also: Samsung washing machine catches fire in HDB flat, forcing mother and daughter to flee

"When SCDF told me it was safe to go back in, I noticed that most of my things were intact. I felt grateful," she said.

The damage caused by the fire was mainly contained in the bathroom - some tiles were dislodged, the toilet door partly melted and the walls charred.

The towels she was washing were burnt to a crisp.

RENOVATE

It will cost the homeowners about $2,600 to renovate the bathroom.

The second-hand Samsung washing machine was bought for $400 four years ago at a shop in Serangoon.

Samsung Electronics Singapore said the incident is not linked to the recall of washing machines in North America.

But the company is unable to comment on this specific incident until it obtains and thoroughly examines the appliance.

"Customer safety remains our highest priority and we want to work with any customer who has experienced an issue with a Samsung product in order to investigate the matter and to support them," said the spokesman.

The Consumers Association of Singapore said it received one inquiry this month from a consumer concerned that his Samsung washing machine would explode after reading articles on the washing machines in North America.

kintana@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on November 11, 2016.
Get The New Paper for more stories.