Aflutter about her clutter

Aflutter about her clutter

SINGAPORE - For the past eight years, before going to sleep every night, he worries about his family being trapped if a fire were to suddenly break out.

Mr Alauddin Rahman, 42, points to a pile of rubbish, packed into trolleys and damaged shelves, that lines the common corridor outside his neighbour's flat.

"All her things block my way to the nearest escape route in case of a fire," he said, referring to his elderly neighbour, known as Madam Lily.

Mr Alauddin, who is married with four daughters, aged two to 10, added: "If there is a fire, how can I escape with four young children in tow?"

The property officer said that Madam Lily was already hoarding when he moved into his two-room rental flat at Jalan Bukit Ho Swee eight years ago.

"I don't know how much longer I can tolerate this," he said, pointing out that his neighbour's junk is a fire hazard.

"If someone living upstairs throws a lit cigarette butt, it might land in the corridor and start a fire.

"Her things are so near my unit that I'm scared I'll be trapped in my own home if there is a fire," he said.

He said the pile of rubbish occasionally smells bad.

"Cats roam and play among her belongings and they pass urine and the smell lingers and travels to our flat."

He is also worried about pests, such as ants and cockroaches, entering his unit.

"My children sleep on a mattress in the living room. I always have to splash water outside my unit before they go to bed so that nothing crawls in," he said with a sigh. Mr Alauddin said he has brought the matter up to the town council many times over the past few years, but nothing has changed.

Confirming that Mr Alauddin had made several reports, a spokesman for the Tanjong Pagar Town Council said Madam Lily is a rag-and-bone woman who collects junk and recyclable items for a living.

"The town council has given her numerous warnings over the years to remove her items from the common corridor. While she complied at the time of the warnings, she inevitably starts accumulating her items along the corridor again as this is her livelihood," she said.

The spokesman said the council will remind her once again to keep her items safely and not in the corridor. Some members from the town council and the residents' committee visited Madam Lily yesterday to try to educate her on the need to find a suitable storage space for her junk and recycled items.

 

REFUSES HELP

The spokesman said that she was extremely upset and refused their help. She also would not allow anyone to touch her things.

When The New Paper went to Madam Lily's flat on Tuesday, newspapers, cardboards, countless plastic bags and even bags with bread inside were stuffed into the trolleys and shelves in the common corridor.

There was no foul smell. But it was hard to get past the clutter to the staircase.

A peek into her living room showed that it was filled with cardboard boxes and plastic bags. There was hardly any furniture.

When TNP spoke to Madam Lily at the void deck, she was peeved that Mr Alauddin had complained again.

The woman, who is in her late 70s, said: "Every day I clear a few items... Why is that not enough?"

Madam Lily, who hunches when she walks, is a widow with a married son.

She said her son does not give her money. So she sells things she collects to a "karung guni" man.

"I collect these things to make a living. These are things that are important to me. If not, I cannot eat," she said, adding that she makes about $2 a day.

She said the problem was worse two years ago.

"Last time, the clutter was very high. At least, it is neater now."

During the interview, Madam Lily picked up fliers from the floor near the letter boxes and put them in her trolley.

When asked why she was keeping the fliers, she said in an irritated tone: "I will throw them away later.

"I usually throw away things that I don't need. But I do it slowly because I am not well. I cannot move properly."

Yet, she has spurned offers of help.

Ms Wong Lee Chin, 44, a social worker with the Family Support Services at the Salvation Army, has been visiting Madam Lily for almost a year.

"I wanted to help her clean her house. But since I met her, there hasn't been much progress. Most of the time, she prefers to do it herself," she said.

Ms Wong, who said Madam Lily started hoarding after her husband died some years ago, added: "I feel that she does not want to let go of what she has.

"She always tells me she is going to sell her things. But she can only sell newspapers, cans and cardboards, which make up a small percentage of her overall belongings.

"I am not sure if she will ever change her habits."

Madam Lily admitted that she has rejected offers of help from many volunteers.

She said: "They do not know what things to throw and what is important. What if they throw away something I cannot get back again?"

595 - Number of fires started from discarded items last year, down 15.8 per cent from 707 in 2012, according to the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).

SCDF said such fires can cause serious damage due to combustibles such as newspapers and old furniture. Clutter can also block escape routes and hinder fire-fighting efforts. Residents are urged not to discard items in common areas and to report anyone who does to the town council.

 

Past Incidents

SEPTEMBER 2007

Two siblings died in a fire that broke out across three shophouses at Block 638, Hougang Avenue 8. The siblings, in their 20s, ran down a staircase from their unit above the shophouses but were trapped by cluttered goods which were ablaze. Their parents escaped using a different staircase. The owners of the shophouse had been issued summonses for excessive display of goods.

 

JULY 2006

An elderly woman died after her cluttered Circuit Road flat in Block 69 caught fire while she was burning incense paper in the kitchen. This was the second time the flat, which was cluttered with boxes, clothes and newspapers, had caught fire. The victim had ignored warnings from neighbours that she should burn incense paper at the designated areas downstairs and not in her flat.

 


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