Woodlands Ring Road flat catches fire; 15 people evacuated, 2 taken to hospital
Lorry driver Lee Hock Peng was having breakfast at home with his daughter at about 10.20am on Monday (April 4) when he saw grey smoke rising in the corridor outside his flat.
He realised that his neighbour's flat on the ground floor had caught fire.
The 57-year-old, who lives on the second storey of Block 663, in Woodlands Ring Road, told The Straits Times in Mandarin: "I told my daughter to call 995 and went to knock on our neighbours' doors (to tell them to evacuate).
"I went downstairs and shouted and knocked on the door to see if anyone was in the flat, but there was no reply. I continued to shout for help and eventually some neighbours came with a water hose (to help put out the fire). The smoke grew thicker and blacker."
Mr Lee also used a small fire extinguisher from another neighbour's flat to try to put out the fire.
"I can't go any further (into the flat) because it was really smoky and I can't see anything," he said.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) told The Straits Times it was alerted to the fire at about 10.20am and that firefighters put it out with a water jet.
SCDF said the fire involved items in the bedroom of the flat, located on the ground floor. It added that about 15 residents evacuated from the block and two people were taken to the Singapore General Hospital.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
When ST arrived there at about 3pm, the floor of the corridor outside the flat was wet. Inside, the floor was wet with grey water, and the pillars and ceiling were covered in soot. In the bedroom, there were charred remains of a shoe, a flowery cloth and other unidentified items.
Some Sembawang Town Council workers were cleaning up the flat and removing undamaged furniture and electrical appliances.
The flat's owner, Madam Mahaletchimi Govindan Nair, told ST that she, her husband, 83, and son, 40, have lived in the flat for 17 years.
The cleaner, 73, said she was working when a friend told her about the fire at 11am. Her friend is a cleaner who works in Woodlands Ring Primary School, which is just opposite the block.
Madam Mahaletchimi, who rushed home immediately, said no one was home when the fire broke out.
Her husband, a retiree, was out for a medical checkup at the time and her son had gone out to buy some things.
Madam Mahaletchimi estimated that the family lost about $20,000 worth of contents in the fire.
She said HDB has offered to house the family in a nearby rental flat for two months, until their home is repaired.
Housewife Sim En Qi, who lives on the third storey in the block, said she was alerted to the fire when she went to check on her child, who was crying.
The 29-year-old said in Mandarin: "My windows were closed, but I saw that it was really dark outside. When we looked out of the kitchen window, I saw some people calling for us to evacuate quickly."
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