Hot ashes cause lift lobby fire

An inconsiderate neighbour at Block 68 Geylang Bahru has residents all hot and bothered.

The woman, they said, has a habit of leaving hot ashes at the common corridor on the 11th storey.

The residents said winds often pick up the ashes and dump them in their flats.

Yesterday, it took a more serious turn.

Ms Eza Iqbal's five-year-old nephew was playing at the common corridor at 11.30am when he ran back saying something was burning at the lift.

The customer care officer rushed out of her unit, which is the closest to the lift lobby, but the fire had been extinguished.

Ms Eza, 33, said a resident had dealt with the fire.

She said: "He told me that he put out the fire using the water in my watering can."

All that was left were remnants of a charred piece of cardboard and a soot-stained wall and ceiling.

CONCERNED

But Ms Eza, who has been living there for about 20 years, is concerned that neighbours might not be so lucky the next time.

She said it was inconsiderate that the resident would leave hot ashes at the common corridor.

Another neighbour, Madam Nursiah Ismail, said she has seen the same resident leaving hot ashes at the corridor.

The 50-year-old, who works in customer service, said: "I talked to her about it a few months ago and told her it was dangerous, but she still continued."

Two other residents living on the same floor also said they have had ashes landing outside their units.

When TNP spoke to the resident accused of leaving the hot ashes, she denied being aware of the fire.

But Ms Eza said she saw officers from Moulmein-Kallang Town Council visiting the resident later at about 2pm.

Cleaners then cleared up the mess.

A Singapore Civil Defence Force said it sent a team out to investigate after receiving a call about the fire at 11.29am.

By then the fire had been extinguished by a member of the public using buckets of water.

This article was first published on December 23, 2014.
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