Bukit Batok SMC Member of Parliament Murali Pillai apologised on Friday, Nov. 15.

His apology was over the padlocked hose reel cabinets and the absence of water supply that resulted in firefighters having difficulties putting out a fire in a block of flats in his ward.

The incident occurred on Nov. 1 when Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) firefighters arrived at Block 210A Bukit Batok Street 21 to put out a fire at the 13th floor.

However, they had to break one of the padlocked cabinets to access the hose reel.

They were then unable to use it as there was no water supply.

SCDF personnel then had to extinguish the fire using water from the SCDF’s emergency vehicles.

Facebook post apology

Apologising in a post on his Facebook page on Friday, Murali said: “As your elected representative, I am politically accountable to you for these issues... These incidents should not have happened and, for that, I must apologise. I will work with my elected & appointed Town Councillors to review this case and ensure that the fire safety system is strengthened to ensure its reliability.”

Town council officers responsible

Murali also said the town council identified two officers who were responsible.

He added: “This was a mistake on their part. They have admitted to their mistakes. The Town Council management will pursue disciplinary action against them.”

The hose reels were padlocked as they had previously been frequently misused and vandalised.

This was the reason the padlocks were there, Ana Zakaria, public relations manager for the Jurong-Clementi Town Council, said on Thursday.

She said: “As a precaution, a small padlock was used to prevent casual vandalism. We have since removed all padlocks."

Lack of water issue

Regarding the apparent lack of water issue, JKeart, the contractor responsible for maintaining the fire hoses, has insisted that there was water supply to the hose reel in question at the time of the fire.

Murali said JKeart even provided the town council a video of the hose reel in question in working condition on the day of the fire incident.

The town council then met with SCDF officers earlier this week to provide JKeart's video.

The town council then issued a statement accepting SCDF’s position on the matter and is now investigating JKeart’s assertions, Murali added.

SDP scrutiny

Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) leader Chee Soon Juan has scrutinised the shortcomings arising from the incident and publicly called out the issues.

He said in a Thursday Facebook post: “The matter is of intense public interest and the longer Mr Murali delays giving a full account of the violations, the bigger the mockery he makes of Mr Heng Swee Keat’s call for MPs to win trust by being open and transparent.”

Chee then said in a Friday Facebook post: “I am gratified to note that the Town Council is investigating the inconsistencies and dubious practices, and that it will take action where needed.”

Focus on helping those affected

Murali revealed in his post that he had turned up at the scene of the fire just before 8am on that day.

The three fire victims were already conveyed to hospital by that time.

The MP said that he learnt about the issues regarding the access and deployment of firehose on the 13th floor while walking with the SCDF officers.

Murali said assisting the families affected by the fire at the block was his main focus then.

He also visited the fire victims in hospital.

Mdm Goh, on of the victims, was still in an intensive care unit and he met her family members there.