Discarded items, recycling bin catch fire at Woodlands HDB loading bay, no reported injuries

A fire involving a pile of discarded items broke out at the loading bay of Block 616 Woodlands Avenue 4 on Mar. 4 morning.

The incident was caught on camera by several onlookers, and footage was uploaded to TikTok and Xiaohongshu.

What videos showed

According to the videos, a raging fire could be seen burning next to a bicycle rack of the public housing block.

The surrounding area was cordoned off by the police.

Smoke emitted by the burning items could be seen from the top of the public housing block.

@shopwithandrewlee Fire breakout @Blk 616 Woodlands#tiktoksg #sgnews #breakingnews #singaporenews #woodlandssingapore #fire #fyp #trendingvideo #viral ♬ original sound - shopwithandrewlee

Police and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) vehicles were present at the scene, as firefighters worked to put out the fire.

Footage from another angle showed a blue recycling bin on fire.

@shopwithandrewlee Explosion & Big Fire@ Blk 617 Woodlands #tiktoksg #sgnews #breakingnews #singaporenews #Explosion #woodlands #fyp #trendingvideo #viral ♬ original sound - shopwithandrewlee

Cause of fire under investigation: SCDF

In response to Mothership's queries, SCDF confirmed they were alerted to the fire at around 10:50am on Mar. 4.

The fire was extinguished by SCDF using a water jet.

There were no reported injuries.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Witness saw 'black smoke coming out from recycling bin'

Speaking to Shin Min Daily News, a resident who lived on the second floor of the public housing block said his father witnessed the fire from their kitchen window.

According to the resident, his father first saw "black smoke coming out from a recycling bin".

When the recycling truck workers unloaded the bin into the truck, "a large fire suddenly broke out", recounted the resident.

Although the truck's sprinkler system was activated, it apparently failed to extinguish the flames.

As a result, the truck driver offloaded the burning items in the loading bay, said the resident.

The resident then alerted SCDF.

SCDF evacuated residents

Upon their arrival, SCDF evacuated residents of the public housing block, residents told Shin Min.

"We have shut our doors and windows before we left our flat, so we are not affected. However, the smell of smoke was very strong," shared the resident.

In contrast, a woman who lived on the fourth floor lamented that she had to "spend an entire afternoon" to remove the black smog from her flat floor because her domestic helper forgot to close the window during evacuation.

Cleaner found burnt batteries among burnt items

A worker who helped clean up the scene after the fire told Shin Min that a new recycling bin will be sent to the public housing block soon.

He added that some burnt batteries were found in the burned items.

Similarly, a TikToker also posted a video of the burnt batteries, which were placed on the pedestrian walkway inside the cordoned-off area.

@shopwithandrewlee The cause of explosion & fire @blk 616 Woodlands?!! #tiktoksg #sgnews #breakingnews #singaporenews #explosion #fire #woodlandssingapore #fyp #trendingvideo #viral ♬ original sound - shopwithandrewlee

What to throw in recycling bins?

According to Clean and Green Singapore, only paper, plastic, glass, and metal are considered recyclables destined for the blue recycling bins.

E-waste, such as batteries, should be deposited in e-waste recycling bins instead.

Residents can check whether their items can be recycled by referring to this Recycling Guide or using the online Recycling Search Engine.

Top images via shopwithandrewlee/TikTok