Couple trapped inside HDB unit taken to hospital following Hougang fire

A couple in their sixties was trapped after a fire broke out at a HDB flat in Hougang on May 19 morning. 

In response to AsiaOne's queries, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said they were alerted at about 1.30am to a fire at Block 238 Hougang Avenue 1. 

The fire involved contents of a bedroom in a 12th-floor unit and was extinguished using a water jet, said SCDF. 

Four people from the affected block were evacuated before SCDF arrived and two people were taken to Singapore General Hospital.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. 

Elderly couple lived in unit for over 40 years

Situ Xinri (transliteration), a 75-year-old resident who lives on the fourth floor, told Shin Min Daily News the couple have been living in that unit for more than 40 years.

They were originally a family of four but their daughter moved out after getting married and their son was not at home when the incident occurred. 

Lin (transliteration), a 59-year-old taxi driver, told the Chinese daily that he was returning home from work when he saw smoke emitting from the opposite block. 

He added that one person was seen lying on a stretcher while another was being carried to an ambulance on a stretcher. 

Another resident from the 12th floor, 66-year-old Wong (transliteration), said that the couple was in the unit when the fire broke out. 

They are suspected to have inhaled a large amount of smoke before being rescued and evacuated by SCDF officers.

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esther.lam@asiaone.com