Marine Parade condo explosion: Playing with his daughter saved tenant's life
If he had not left the room to play with his daughter, the Australian tenant, 39, could have been seriously hurt in the explosion in his bedroom.
On Saturday (Sept 30) evening, an explosion was caused by a ruptured water heater in the master bedroom toilet in a fifth storey unit at Cote D'Azur Condominium at 70, Marine Parade Road. No one was hurt.
Recounting the close shave, the Australian tenant, who works in corporate finance, told The New Paper he was reading his book on the bed in the master bedroom at around 4.50pm when his Korean wife called out to him to play with their 28-month-old daughter in the other bedroom.
A minute after leaving the room, an explosion from the toilet in the master bedroom rocked the apartment.
The impact sent their bed crashing out into the balcony. The blast shattered windows and doors flew off their hinges.
Declining to be named, he told The New Paper on Monday: "It sounded like a bomb had gone off or a plane had hit the building. I was very shocked and feel so lucky.
"If I still had been sitting in the room, I would've gotten severely injured, or even killed."
A Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) spokesman told TNP they got a call for help at about 5.10pm and sent a fire engine to the scene.
He said the incident is believed to have involved a ruptured storage water heater in the unit. They found no signs of a fire.
The tenant told TNP there were no warning signs leading up to the explosion, except for the water being extremely hot. He heard neighbours reporting the same issue about the water too.
The management of the condominium will also be advising their residents to constantly maintain their water heaters and engage Building and Construction Authority-registered licensed plumbers to inspect or replace their water heater should it be faulty.
The tenant said: "In Australia, the water heaters are outside the buildings so it's safer. Water heaters should be situated outside the building.
"What's important is that this doesn't happen to others."
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