SINGAPORE: A man and woman were rescued from a 26th-floor Bukit Batok flat after a fire broke out in the early hours of Thursday (Jul 18).
About 70 residents of Block 293D Bukit Batok Street 21 were evacuated during the fire, and an elderly man was injured during the evacuation.
The cause of the fire has not been identified by the authorities, although Mr Murali Pillai, the Member of Parliament for the area, said it has been traced to two e-scooters.
“The fire involved the contents of the living room and was extinguished using two water jets,” said the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) in a Facebook post, adding that it responded to the fire at about 12.40am.
Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus forced their way into the burning flat and rescued a man and a woman, SCDF said.
The man was found unconscious and taken to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, while the woman was taken to Singapore General Hospital for smoke inhalation.
Two people were found in the burning flat. (Photo: Facebook/Murali Pillai)
Student James Lum, who lives in the block, said he was out getting food when the fire broke out.
“I was at the coffee shop getting supper. I heard a bit of shouting and I saw police cars coming in to the area,” the 21-year-old told CNA.
About 70 residents were evacuated during the fire at Block 293D, Bukit Batok Street 21. (Photo: Facebook/Murali Pillai)
Emergency responders at the scene. (Photo: James Lum)
“I went to check it out. When I was approaching the scene, I saw a black shape falling out of the sky and it hit the ground,” he said, adding that he did not know what the object was.
When he looked up, he noticed smoke and saw the fire. “It was very scary. We were told by the police officers we cannot walk to our unit,” he said.
Firefighters allowed him to return to his flat at around 2am.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, said SCDF.
