More fire-related deaths in 2022; spike in vehicle fires: SCDF

More people died in fires in 2022, even though the number of blazes fell from 1,844 in 2021 to 1,799 last year.

There were six fire deaths in 2022, up from four in 2021, said the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) in its annual statistics report on Monday.

Half of the fatalities in 2022 were from a fire in Bedok North in May where three people died, including a three-year-old girl and her father.

In March, one of nine family members who lived in a New Upper Changi Road flat died and a 48-year-old man perished in a Jurong East flat blaze in August.

Director of SCDF’s operations department Michael Chua said besides these six deaths, there were two more fatality cases in 2022 that are still pending investigations.

While the number of deaths increased, there was a drop in fire injuries from 193 in 2021 to 171 in 2022.

SCDF said there were 935 fires in residential buildings in 2022, a decrease of 7.4 per cent from 1,010 cases in 2021.

The most common cause of residential fires was the overheating of food due to unattended cooking, which accounted for 37 per cent of residential fires. This was a slight decrease from 358 cases in 2021 to 343 in 2022.

The number of electrical fires rose by 18.8 per cent to 228 cases in 2022. SCDF said most of these fires were caused by electrical faults in wirings or electrical appliances, or due to the overloading of electrical sockets. 

Fires involving discarded items saw a 31.7 per cent drop from 145 cases in 2021 to 99 in 2022. These fires typically occur at lift lobbies, staircase landings and common corridors.

But there was a 31.6 per cent spike in vehicle fires in 2022 with 204 cases, up from 155 in 2021.

SCDF said the increase followed the easing of Covid-19 restrictions in 2022, and noted the figure is similar to pre-pandemic figures. In 2019, there were 195 vehicle fires.

In January 2022, a car driver and her son narrowly escaped before the vehicle burst into flames outside Maris Stella High School along Bartley Road.

Fires involving active mobility devices, including personal mobility devices (PMDs) and power assisted bicycles, saw a 33.3 per cent drop from 63 cases in 2021 to 42 in 2022.

SCDF attributed the decrease to the implementation of regulatory measures, but noted such fires continue to be a concern for the authorities as such devices are often used by those with walking difficulties.

On the fatal New Upper Changi Road flat fire in March 2022, preliminary investigations had shown the blaze started from a PMD charging in the living room of the fourth-storey flat.

SCDF’s report also revealed that the number of calls for emergency medical services (EMS) jumped 20.2 per cent from 213,615 calls in 2021 to 256,837 calls in 2022.

Of these, 93.1 per cent - or 239,210 calls - were emergency calls, which was more than the 2021 figure.

SCDF said the increase was in relation to the various Covid-19 waves in 2022.

Also part of the EMS calls were non-emergency calls, which rose 27.5 per cent to 11,538 in 2022 and was higher than pre-pandemic figures.

This was partly due to a rise in Covid-19-related cases deemed non-emergencies after assessment by paramedics, said SCDF.

False alarm calls also increased by 8.8 per cent from 5,598 in 2021 to 6,089 in 2022.

SCDF urged those not experiencing life-threatening emergencies to refrain from dialing 995.

Its spokesman added that Covid-19 patients and suspected cases with only mild acute respiratory infection symptoms do not need its emergency medical services.

On Monday, SCDF also said that its non-dispatch policy will be implemented on March 13 to cope with increasing demand for emergency services.

The policy to assess emergency calls and send out ambulances only when they are actual emergencies was first announced at the SCDF annual workplan seminar in June 2022.