Elderly woman dies, 150 evacuated after early morning fire in Choa Chu Kang flat

SINGAPORE — An elderly woman died in a fire that broke out in a Choa Chu Kang Housing Board flat in the wee hours of Sept 24.

In a Facebook post, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said firefighters from Bukit Batok Fire Station and Woodlands Fire Station were alerted to a fire at Block 692A Choa Chu Kang Crescent at about 5.30am.

"The fire involved the living room and a bedroom of a unit on the ninth floor. Firefighters had to conduct forcible entry to gain access into the unit," said SCDF.

"The fire was extinguished with a water jet and two compressed air foam backpacks. As a result of the fire, the rest of the unit also sustained heat and smoke damage."

North West District Mayor Alex Yam confirmed in a Facebook post that the victim was an elderly woman.

According to SCDF, she was found inside one of the bedroom and was carried out of the flat by firefighters.

The victim was pronounced dead at the scene by a paramedic, said SCDF, adding that there was no one else inside the affected unit.

About 150 residents were evacuated from the block by police and SCDF as a precautionary measure.

This is the eighth reported fire fatality in 2024 — the figure has almost tripled from the three fatalities in 2023.

When The Straits Times arrived at about 9am, there were at least eight police cars, three fire trucks and a Red Rhino seen near the block.

A strong burning smell was still in the air surrounding the affected flat on the ninth floor. Fire investigators could be seen at the unit, along with multiple officers who were both uniformed and in plain clothes.

One resident who wanted to be known only as Madam Chong said she was awoken by a crackling sound at about 5am.

The housewife, who lives one level above the affected unit, said: "I saw grey smoke entering my bedroom. When I opened my main door, smoke was blowing up from the corridor into my house. I quickly guessed that a unit near me was on fire and started to shout 'Fire!' to wake and alert my neighbours."

As the smoke became thicker, another resident helped Madam Chong carry her mother down to the void deck.

Once they were allowed back into their flats, Madam Chong said the temperature measured inside her home by a fireman was more than 50 deg C, adding that her floor tiles in the living room also cracked from the residual heat.

Madam Chong said: "We are not close to the neighbours from the affected unit, but we know that a mother and son live there together."

Another resident, who gave her name only as Lim, said it was around 5.30am when her mother woke up and smelled the fumes. Neighbours started knocking on their door to alert them about the fire.

"We ran down the stairs, and there were plenty of people helping us along the way. When we went down, we heard multiple explosions," the 30-year-old said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Yam posted on Facebook shortly after the fire at about 6.15am, saying the town council would be on site soon to assist.

He said in an update at around 9am after visiting the site that SCDF had put out the fire, and the site was currently undergoing a dampening process to prevent embers from reigniting. Housing Board officials and grassroots leaders were also there to provide help.

"It is very unfortunate that our elderly resident lost her life in the fire. May she rest in peace. I met the family and conveyed our community's deepest condolences and extended our assistance to them," he said, noting that the fire damage was extensive.

Yam wrote in his post that all residents apart from those on the ninth floor have been allowed to return home. There is no major impact to neighbouring units.

"I would like to recognise the immediate neighbours who stepped forward immediately to attempt to extinguish the fire and alert other neighbours to evacuate. And to our firefighters who gave their best, who told me with disappointment, 'Sorry sir, we tried our best.' You did what you could," Yam added.

There were 1,954 fires in total in 2023, an 8.6 per cent hike from 1,799 cases in 2022. Among this figure, 970 fires took place in residential buildings, an increase of 3.7 per cent from 935 fires in 2022.

The top two causes were electrical fires and unattended cooking, with 597 and 456 cases respectively, according to SCDF statistics.

Additionally, fire injuries fell from 171 to 81, and deaths from eight to three from 2022 to 2023.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.