Elderly man dashed back to Woodlands flat to save wife and cat during Monday’s fire
Despite having difficulties walking, Mr Abd Hamzah Midi, 61, did not hesitate to rush back to save his wife when a fire broke out in their one-room rental unit in Block 806 in Woodlands Street 81 in the early hours of Monday morning.
His wife, Madam Siti Aminah Khamis, was in the kitchen with their cat then while he was in the corridor on the fifth floor where their unit is.
Mr Abd Hamzah, who walks with a limp, told Berita Harian: “It was scary but I didn’t care because my wife was inside. I had to save her and the cat.”
Madam Siti said she grabbed hold of him and the two escaped together.
She said: “At first, I thought I could hide in the toilet, but luckily I didn’t because the fire got larger and engulfed the whole flat.”
The 56-year-old managed to escape mostly unscathed, save for a small cut on her right hand.
The fire is believed to have started from a personal mobility aid (PMA) in the living room.
Before smoke began to envelop the corridor, Mr Abd Hamzah said he tried to sound the alert by shouting for help while his wife called their daughter who lived on the sixth floor in another rental unit.
Ms Siti Hairah Abd Hamzah, 30, was watching the World Cup final then. Smoke had already begun to fill up most of the corridor when she went down to the fifth floor.
She saw neighbours rushing out of their units, and helped her parents to head to the void deck.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it was alerted to the fire at 2am on Monday. About 100 people were evacuated from the block as a precautionary measure.
Three people were taken to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital for smoke inhalation, with preliminary investigations revealing that the fire was of electrical origin.
Madam Siti said the PMA was bought by her second son, who is a GrabFood deliveryman, on Carousell. The parents recounted that the PMA’s battery had made a clicking noise before catching fire.
Ms Siti said the battery – which was bought separately from another person – was already defective before it was sold, but this information was not revealed by the seller.
Warning people about fires of electrical origin, SCDF said they should not charge batteries for an extended period or overnight. It added: “Do not purchase or use non-original batteries.”
Meanwhile, the Housing Board has already obtained a temporary residence for the couple – who are putting up with their daughter – in Block 180C in Marsiling Road.
The Sembawang Town Council will help to clean and repair affected units, said Ms Mariam Jaafar. The MP for Sembawang GRC was watching the World Cup final at the nearby Woodlands Community Club when the fire broke out.
“A group of grassroots leaders headed down (to the block) right away, while a few of us briefed the team at the CC and contacted the relevant agencies before heading over,” she said.
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