SINGAPORE: A fire broke out at a Bukit Batok flat in the early hours of Thursday (Jul 18), leading to the evacuation of about 70 people.
Three people were injured and taken to hospital in the incident at Block 293D, Bukit Batok Street 21. The flat was on the 26th floor.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) responded to the fire at about 12.40am.
“The fire involved the contents of the living room and was extinguished using two water jets,” said SCDF in a Facebook post.
Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus forced their way into the burning flat and rescued a man and a woman.
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.
Another elderly man was injured while evacuating and taken to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital.
Emergency responders at the scene. (Photo: James Lum)
A fire broke out at a Bukit Batok flat in the early hours of Jul 18, 2019, leading to the evacuation of about 70 people. (Photo: James Lum)
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.
“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.
