February 07, 2024, 11:24 AM
A fire broke out in a third floor unit of Block 291D Compassvale Street at 9:55pm on Saturday, Feb. 3.
According to Shin Min Daily News, the Sengkang flat was occupied by a couple's two children, a friend and the family's domestic worker at the time of the fire.
All four of them escaped together with the family cat.
Around 50 people evacuated, one conveyed to hospital
In response to Mothership's queries, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said four occupants in the unit had evacuated before their arrival.
About 50 people also evacuated from the block prior to the arrival of the SCDF.
One person was conveyed to KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital for smoke inhalation.
Preliminary investigations indicated that the fire was of electrical origin from a dryer in the unit's service yard.
The fire had also affected the unit's kitchen and service yard.
Video screenshot from Shin Min.
Parents believed to be not home when fire broke out
A neighbour that Shin Min spoke to said that the unit belonged to a family with two sons in secondary school, and a domestic worker.
According to the neighbour, the parents were not at home at the time of the incident and were presumed to be at work.
The neighbour said she had been heading home after the end of a getai performance below the block when she saw the family's two sons running down with the cat in their hands.
The domestic helper and the friend were right behind them, she added.
The sons told the neighbour that there was a fire at home and told her to head down quickly.
Police told neighbours to evacuate
Another neighbour who lives below the unit said he spotted the flames and smoke from the unit above him and immediately closed his windows.
He also saw three fire trucks and a police car arrive at the scene.
The neighbour said he headed to the nearby multi-storey car park after being advised to evacuate by the police.
He added that the SCDF put out the fire within 10 minutes, and residents were allowed to return to their homes at about 12am on Feb. 4, Shin Min reported.
Photo from Shin Min.
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