Fire hydrants at location of East Coast Road blaze in working condition: PUB
Fire hydrants in the vicinity of 12S East Coast Road, where four terraced houses went up in flames on Monday, were in working order when national water agency PUB conducted checks on them on Tuesday.
Fire had engulfed the houses on Monday night and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) firefighters extinguished the blaze about two hours after it received an alert about the incident at 11.50pm.
On Wednesday night, PUB issued a statement after comments surfaced online that the SCDF had experienced difficulty operating a fire hydrant in the area amid the fire.
It said: “PUB is aware of online comments that SCDF experienced difficulty operating a fire hydrant near 12S East Coast Road during firefighting operations.
“We carried out on-site checks on the morning of Jan 10 and found the fire hydrants in the vicinity to be in working order.”
In the statement, PUB also said there was sufficient water pressure within its supply network to support SCDF operations at the location.
The fire started at a row of terraced houses along East Coast Road on the side facing The Seaview condominium.
A person was taken to hospital with a minor burn injury and about 20 other individuals were evacuated from nearby houses.
Videos circulating on social media platform TikTok claimed the SCDF took more than 20 minutes to connect a water hose to a fire hydrant.
One of the clips showed water from the hose not being able to reach the raging fire, purportedly due to insufficient pressure.
SCDF said in a statement on Monday night that the fire had already spread when firefighters arrived at the location.
It added that firefighters used a combined platform ladder for aerial firefighting as well as six water jets at the height of the operation.
In its statement on Wednesday, PUB said regular inspections and maintenance are conducted on all fire hydrants in Singapore.
“(Our) records show that the hydrants along East Coast Road were last inspected and serviced in March 2022,” it said.
PUB added that it is working with SCDF to ascertain the facts of the incident.
The Straits Times has contacted SCDF for comment.
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now
