Man rescued after fire breaks out in Tampines flat, taken to hospital

A person was rescued from a HDB flat in Tampines after a fire broke out late at night on Feb 19. 

In response to AsiaOne's queries, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said they were alerted to the incident at Block 267 Tampines Street 21 at about 11.25pm. 

The fire involved the contents of a bedroom of an 11th floor unit and was extinguished with a water jet. 

SCDF conducted forcible entry and rescued a person from the unit, who was taken to Singapore General Hospital for smoke inhalation.

About 40 residents from the affected block were evacuated by the police and SCDF as a precautionary measure.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

A resident living in the affected building told Shin Min Daily News that she only learned of the fire after hearing the sirens of fire trucks. 

She shared that there were at least five fire trucks, three police cars, and one ambulance on site. Firefighters were also seen rushing upstairs carrying water hoses. 

"I saw a large fire in the bedroom of that unit, with thick smoke billowing out," she recounted. 

Footage she provided to the Chinese media showed the exterior wall above the bedroom window blackened by smoke, while SCDF personnel were spraying water inside the bedroom. 

The resident said the fire was extinguished in about 10 minutes. 

SCDF officers on the 11th floor were also heard calling out to other personnel below the block for a first-aid kit. Later, an elderly man was brought downstairs on a stretcher while wearing an oxygen mask, and was taken away in an ambulance. 

The resident shared that investigations at the unit by SCDF continued past 1am on Feb 20, while hoses were being removed. A fire engine and police car remained at the scene till around 2am, with the process taking more than two hours. 

[[nid:730056]]

melissateo@asiaone.com