Bus captains earn praise online for extinguishing car fire in Ang Mo Kio

Two SBS Transit bus captains have received plaudits for jumping in to extinguish a car fire in Ang Mo Kio.

Responding to AsiaOne's queries, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it was alerted to a vehicle fire along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 at about 7.45am on Thursday (Jan 15).

Footage of the incident posted by TikTok user rjlovesdriving on Thursday afternoon shows a black BMW stopped in the middle of the road as plumes of thick smoke billow out of its shut front bonnet.

The driver, who had got out of the car, then opens the bonnet to reveal fiery flames which engulfs the front of the car.

At the same time, a bus captain of service 133 races over with a fire extinguisher and douses the car and the blaze wanes slightly.

Though the video ended there, another bus captain had also stopped his vehicle to help fight the fire.

According to SCDF, the two bus captains extinguished the fire using two dry powder fire extinguishers before first responders arrived.

Public transport operator SBS Transit confirmed to AsiaOne that the bus captains are Liew Poh Chye of service 71 and Lim Swee Shen of service 133.

SCDF said the fire involved the engine compartment of a car and the cause of the fire is under investigation.

There were no reported injuries.

"SCDF has reached out to the bus captains to commend them for their quick-thinking and prompt efforts and will be presenting them with the SCDF Community First Responder Award," a spokesperson added.

In his post, TikTok user rjlovesdriving reminded motorists to turn off their engine and refrain from opening their bonnet in the case of an engine fire: "Leave it closed to help suffocate the fire."

His video was subsequently shared on Facebook page Roads.sg and quickly gained over 1,000 reactions and 300 comments within three hours.

Netizens praised the bus captain in the clip for his swift and brave actions, with several calling him a "hero".

"Give that bus captain a raise," one Facebook user wrote.

"Kudos to the bus captain. Made his way with fire extinguisher before the fire erupted. Ran towards the car when the fire erupted. Took out the fire swiftly before it escalated," another listed.

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lim.kewei@asiaone.com