Fires broke out at three separate locations in Singapore within one night on Friday (Jan 28) and early Saturday morning.
Two of the fires occurred in the east — gutting a flat in Tampines and leaving a coffee shop in Bedok up in smoke. The third fire is believed to have originated in a HDB flat at Telok Blangah.
In Tampines, firefighters had to break down a bedroom door in the flat to rescue an unconscious man trapped in the burning unit.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said in a Facebook post the fire was raging at a flat on the 10th storey of Block 941 Tampines Avenue 5. Their officers arrived at the scene after being alerted at 10.30pm.
The flames had totally engulfed the unit and firefighters from Tampines Fire Station and Changi Fire Station had to force their way into the flat.
They also had to force their way into a bedroom on the first storey of the flat, where they found a man lying unconscious on the floor.
The firefighters immediately carried him out of the burning unit, SCDF said.
The man was assessed by an ambulance crew and was taken to Changi General Hospital.
The fire was eventually extinguished with two water jets. About 180 people from neighbouring units were evacuated as a precautionary measure
The cause of the fire is under investigation, SCDF added.
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In videos posted on social media, flames and smoke can be seen pouring out of the Tampines flat as onlookers shouted and screamed.
The sound of glass breaking can be heard in one three-second clip that showed debris falling from the unit.
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Meanwhile, the fire in Bedok occurred at about midnight, according to eyewitnesses.
In videos posted online, large plumes of dark smoke could be seen rising out of a coffee shop at Block 204 Bedok North Street 1.
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An eyewitness, who lives opposite the site of the fire, said he heard loud popping noises at about 12am.
"It sounded like many skateboards popping off the ground, but 30 seconds later there was a loud explosion," he told The Straits Times.
Within moments, he saw smoke rising from the four-storey building and residents evacuating.
From his flat on the 22nd storey, he heard residents shouting as they hurried out of the building.
He said SCDF officers arrived in about five minutes and put the fire out by 12.30am.
When ST arrived at the scene at about 1am, residents who had evacuated from their homes were seen gathering at an open area near Djitsun Mall Bedok.
Many were in tears as police officers rounded them up by their residential units and asked if their families were accounted for.
They were then sent to SCDF medics for checks.
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There were two ambulances at the scene, but it was not clear at the time if there were any casualties.
A resident living on the fourth storey of Block 204 said she was sleeping at the time of the fire and was woken up by the smell of smoke and sounds of people shouting.
The grassroots leader, who wanted to be known only as Gina, said the smoke outside her door was too thick for her to evacuate and she decided stay put.
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Police arrived at her door shortly after the fire was put out and told her to leave.
"The fire started around midnight and within five minutes, it had become quite big," she said.
A function room at nearby Heartbeat@Bedok has been opened to allow residents to take refuge as it was unclear how long they would need wait.
Ms Gina said there are around 50 units at Block 204.
"People looked out for each other and knocked on doors to make sure people were awake and aware," she added.
At least two people were injured from the fire that broke out in a unit on the 10th storey of Block 39 Telok Blangah Rise early on Saturday (Jan 29).
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said in a Facebook post that officers conducted cardiopulmonary resuscitation on a woman who was found lying unconscious on the floor in the unit directly above the fire. She was taken to Singapore General Hospital (SGH).
Another person was also taken to SGH for smoke inhalation injuries, said SCDF.
The force was alerted to the fire at about 4.40am.
"Upon SCDF's arrival, the fire was raging and had totally engulfed a unit on the 10th floor," it said.
"Firefighters donned breathing apparatus sets and proceeded cautiously into the smoke-logged unit. The fire, which involved contents of the entire unit, was extinguished with two water jets."
SCDF added that about 280 people were evacuated as a precautionary measure.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
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One Telok Blangah resident whom AsiaOne spoke to today (Jan 29) said she was awake at the time and had detected the smell of smoke.
"But I thought it was someone burning offerings," said Loo Le En, who lives with her family on the 13th floor of the affected block.
She went to bed, but was soon awoken by her mother who told her to call the SCDF "as there really was a fire".
"When I opened the bedroom door, I saw that the living room was hazy. It didn't sink in that the fire was just below my unit, I thought it was at my block."
"No one told us to evacuate but my mum just told us to get out of the house as soon as possible," said Loo, 31.
Loo, who works as a content creator, recalled opening the front door and seeing the corridor completely filled with smoke. "We couldn't see anything at all and had to feel our way downstairs," said Loo, adding that she had to go past the unit on the 10th floor which caught on fire.
"I saw the fire on the 10th floor as we walked past and could feel the heat from the door. On the 9th floor, I could finally breathe," shared Loo, who saw SCDF personnel already at the scene when she got to the ground floor.
This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.
Additional reporting by AsiaOne.