On Friday (Apr. 10), a fire swept through a 10th-floor HDB flat on Anchorvale Street in Sengkang.

In its statement on the incident shared with Mothership, the SCDF confirmed that no injuries were reported, and said that the cause of the fire was still being investigated.

Pictures of the fire and its aftermath were circulated on social media:

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="738"] Screenshot via @msofian on Instagram[/caption]

Flat owned by single mom of three children

A widely-circulated Facebook post signed off by one "Queen ZZ", which was later deleted, revealed that the flat was owned by a single mother, who lived there with her three children.

Screenshots of the post were, however, uploaded to Instagram by BURPIZ SG, a local business selling desserts, on Apr. 11:

According to the screenshots captured in the post, the entire master bedroom, toilets, and sewerage pipes, as well as part of the living room were damaged.

The fire also affected the flat above, causing damage to their toilets, and the screenshots also stated that the single mother who owned the flat will have to pay for the neighbour's damages.

Appeal for donations

The caption accompanying the screenshots provided bank details for donations to be made, saying that good deeds would be rewarded by God.

"Hi all,

The incident happened close to 7pm last night. I implore my friends and family to lend a little help to this family that has faced an unwanted accident. Your good deeds will be rewarded by God.

Donations can be made through the following bank accounts:

PAYNOW: 88918185

POSB SAVINGS: 315-02519-2

May God give us patience to overcome such trying times. May your good deeds be rewarded by God and help to lighten the burden of this family.

Hopefully God will bless our intentions. Amin.

Even if you can't help financially we hope you can help by sharing 🙏🏼"

BURPIZ SG subsequently reposted of an Instagram story by a user with the handle "tantiyanizaini", who appears to have declared herself as the owner of the flat that caught fire, and referred to BURPIZ SG as "[her] home business".

In her story, she also thanked contributors for their "generous assistance", saying that BURPIZ SG would would have to stop operations temporarily because it was operated out of her flat.

She additionally said the business was managed by her brother and sister, asking donors to liaise with them for donations.

Cause of the fire unknown

Twitter user Qira Yong, whose name matches the payee of the Paynow number stated in BURPIZ SG's solitication post, revealed some further details in tweets:

According to her, she was in the kitchen at the time, while her boyfriend was in the living room, and his sister was in the master bedroom's attached toilet.

She claimed the fire started near the window in the master bedroom and so the cause of the fire "is still under investigation".

Public response

The appeal for donations was circulated widely on social media, with friends of the single mother, and even actress Nurul Aini chipping in to publicise it.

Brands involved as well

Brands such as Nippon Paint stepped in to sponsor help in kind.

Comfort Design Furniture, a local furniture brand, also offered to contribute two mattresses and a dining table with chairs.

"Super overwhelmed"

Within just two days of the initial appeal for donations, more than S$11,000 had been collected, according to @Qirayong, who in a subsequent BURPIZ SG Instagram post said she is the flat owner's sister.

A follow-up Facebook post by Zaara Zulfaqar, who had previously helped to publicise the call for donations in the deleted post signed off "Queen ZZ", said the donations received were enough to cover the family's daily needs for a "good few months".

On top of that, Zaara wrote that an interior design company offered to revamp the flat "at zero cost".

The BURPIZ SG Instagram page also posted an update on Sunday, Apr. 12, stating that collection of donations would stop "by end of tonight" due to overwhelming response.

Top image via Tanti Yani Zaini on Facebook and @burpiz.sg on Instagram.