Altar suspected to have sparked fire in Bukit Merah HDB flat; SCDF breaks in to contain blaze

A fire broke out at an HDB flat in Bukit Merah on Saturday (July 26), allegedly sparked by an altar inside the unit.

Responding to AsiaOne's queries, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said that they received a call for help involving a fire at 6.05pm on July 26 at Block 55 Lengkok Bahru.

The fire involved the contents of a living room in a unit on the 12th floor, SCDF added. 

A resident living in the HDB estate was alerted to the fire when they heard a loud noise and saw multiple SCDF personnel outside the unit, reported Shin Min.

The resident also told Shin Min that the fire was caused by an altar in the unit.

Speaking to AsiaOne, SCDF said that they conducted forcible entry and managed to extinguished the fire with a water jet.

They also said that the cause of the fire is under investigation.

Queenstown MP Eric Chua visited the affected HDB unit following the incident.

In a Facebook post that night, he said that the family who was living there had already been relocated to a temporary flat and that they were "holding up well".

He also added that the fire was contained to that singular unit and that there were no injuries.

At the same time, he commended SCDF, HDB, the Lengkok Bahru Residents' Network and Tanjong Pagar Town Council for their prompt action and support rendered to the affected household.

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dana.leong@asiaone.com