50 evacuated, one taken to hospital in Woodlands condo fire
About 50 people were evacuated and one person was taken to the hospital after a fire broke out in a unit of a Woodlands executive condominium development.
In a Facebook post on Oct 24, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it was alerted to the blaze at 48 Woodlands Drive 16 at around 1.25pm. Forestville, a 653-unit development, is located at this address, according to checks online.
No one was in the 10th-floor unit, and firefighters extinguished the fire in the household shelter and kitchen there with a water jet.
A reel posted on Chinese-language news platform Lianhe Zaobao’s Facebook page shows thick plumes of smoke billowing from the unit.
SCDF and the police evacuated people from units near the fire, as a precaution.
One person was assessed for smoke inhalation and taken to Woodlands Health Campus.
It was likely that the blaze was caused by an electric fire in the shelter, said SCDF, based on preliminary investigations.
SCDF responded to 1,954 fires in 2023, with some 30 per cent of these being of electrical origin.
To prevent electrical fires, SCDF advised the public not to overload power sockets, and to use appliances and plugs with the Safety Mark, among other things.
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