SINGAPORE: A fire broke out in a housing board flat at Tampines Street 45 on Wednesday (Oct 4), forcing about 50 residents to evacuate.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it was alerted to the incident at Block 498J at 6.40pm.
Thick smoke was billowing out of the windows of a third-floor unit, as seen in video footage sent by a Channel NewsAsia reader.
The unit was unoccupied when it caught fire, says SCDF. (Photo: Channel NewsAsia reader)
SCDF said it had to use a power saw to “force entry” into the unit, which was unoccupied at the time. It added that about 50 residents had self-evacuated before firefighters arrived at the scene.
The fire involved the contents of a living room and was put out by SCDF using two water jets. No one was injured.
An eyewitness said his fifth-floor unit was covered in “thick black soot” after the fire.
Authorities said the cause of the fire is being investigated.
