2 taken to hospital, 70 evacuated after fire breaks out in Bukit Panjang flat

Two people were taken to hospital after a fire broke out in a Bukit Panjang flat on Monday (Sept 28) afternoon.

In a Facebook post on Monday, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it was alerted to a fire at Block 126 Pending Road at about 3pm.

When SCDF arrived at the scene, a unit on the sixth floor emitting black smoke. 

The fire, which involved items in the living room, was extinguished using one water jet, SCDF said. 

Firefighters also found an unconscious person in the living room and brought the person out of the unit.

An SCDF paramedic and emergency medical technicians performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the unconscious person before taking them to Woodlands Hospital.

Another person from a neighbouring unit was also assessed for smoke inhalation and taken to Singapore General Hospital.

About 70 people from the affected block were evacuated as a precaution. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

According to SCDF, the top three causes of residential fires are unattended cooking, electrical fires and unattended lighted materials.

"Residents are strongly advised not to leave cooking unattended, and to keep stove-tops, cooker hoods and ovens clean and free of grease. They should also avoid overloading power sockets or charging devices overnight without supervision," SCDF said. 

It added that lighted materials such as incense sticks or cigarettes should never be left unattended and must be fully extinguished before disposal.

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xingying.koh@asiaone.com