Toa Payoh flat fire: Firefighters run hoses up 10 floors due to water supply issues, SCDF investigating

Firefighters responding to the Jul. 29 fire at the Toa Payoh block on the 10th and 11th storeys were forced to manually run hoses up the staircase due to a faulty dry rising main.

Water could not be "charged up"

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said on Jul. 30 that firefighters discovered that the block's dry rising main was not in "proper working condition", and water could not be "charged up" to the affected floors, CNA and The Straits Times reported.

The incident on Tuesday occurred at about 1:10pm at Block 229 Lorong 8 Toa Payoh and the fire was put out at 3:30pm.

What is a dry rising main?

During a fire on higher floors, a dry rising main — a vertical red pipe in a building — will be charged with water from a fire engine.

In this case, firefighters had to instead set up hoses from the fire engine at the ground level to the 10th and 11th floors via the staircase.

An SCDF spokesperson called this process "more onerous", but it is a contingency that SCDF firefighters regularly train for during their routine drills.

Issue to be investigated

A child and a firefighter were among seven people sent to hospital.

SCDF is working with the Bishan-Toa Payoh Town Council to rectify the dry rising main fault and investigate the fire.

"SCDF takes a serious view of fire safety and will take firm action against any non-compliance with fire safety requirements, including non-maintenance of fire safety provisions such as the dry rising main," the spokesperson said.

Bishan-Toa Payoh Town Council said on Wednesday that power supply resumed for most units by 7:30am and lift services were restored at 10:45pm on Tuesday.

Top photos via SCDF