Automatic mahjong table blamed for fire in AMK HDB flat, 2 children, 18 & 21, trapped in unit

An automatic mahjong table is suspected to have caused a fire at a Housing and Development Board (HDB) flat in Ang Mo Kio on Sep. 22, leaving the homeowner's children trapped in the unit.

About 20 people evacuated

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it was alerted to the fire at about 10:45am at Block 254 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4.

Upon its arrival, black smoke was seen emitting from the living room of a seventh-floor unit.

The fire, which involved items in the living room, was extinguished with a water jet.

Two people were found in the bedrooms during firefighting operations and were assisted out by SCDF personnel.

They were assessed for smoke inhalation and taken to Singapore General Hospital.

About 20 residents from the block were evacuated by the police and SCDF as a precaution.

An SCDF firefighter was also assessed for heat exhaustion and conveyed to Woodlands Hospital, similarly as a precaution.

He was subsequently discharged on the same day.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Automatic mahjong table suspected to have caught fire

Speaking to Shin Min Daily News, the owner of the affected unit, surnamed Zhuang (transliteration), said the fire was suspected to have originated from an automatic mahjong table in the living room.

His family of five lives in the unit.

Zhuang, 51, bought the table from a mall about a year ago for more than S$800.

However, the table was not plugged into a power socket at the time of the fire and did not run on batteries, he said, adding that he was unsure how it had caught fire.

Zhuang said the living room and master bedroom sustained extensive fire damage, and the family is currently staying in temporary accommodation arranged by HDB.

Renovation works are expected to take about four months, and the family hopes to return home before Chinese New Year next year.

A neighbour living directly below the affected unit, surnamed Huang, told Shin Min that he rushed upstairs after noticing the fire to check on the situation and alert other residents.

Huang added that he saw the fire raging from outside the unit.

According to his account, the window shattered from the heat, after which a gust of wind caused the flames to flare up and spread.

Another neighbour called Zhuang to inform him about the fire.

"About five to seven minutes later, [Zhuang] rushed back and tried to open the door. However, the fire in the living room was too intense and we could not get in at all. Fortunately, SCDF arrived at that moment so we left the rescue operation to them," Huang said.

Two stuck in the flat

Zhuang told Shin Min that his two children who were in the flat at the time were his eldest daughter, 21, and son, 18.

Fortunately, neither sustained serious injuries.

They were taken to hospital for observation and were expected to be discharged on Sep. 23.

Zhuang added that his son missed one of his A-Level papers on the morning of Sep. 23 as he had to remain in hospital for observation.

"I feel that the most important thing right now is to focus on his emotional and mental well-being. Whether or not he takes the exam is less important," he said.

MP visited affected residents

Kebun Baru Member of Parliament Henry Kwek also visited the affected residents.

In a Facebook post on Sep. 22, Mr Kwek thanked SCDF and police officers who responded to the incident, as well as HDB and Ang Mo Kio Town Council staff for their quick assistance to the affected family.

He also reminded residents to take note of basic fire safety measures at home, particularly when cooking or using sources of heat.

Improper wiring could increase risk of electrical faults

The technical director of electrical service company Power Electrical told Shin Min that automatic mahjong tables contain internal motors and electrical components, and that improper wiring, high power consumption, or poor product quality could all potentially pose a fire hazard.

He noted that automatic mahjong tables sold in Singapore are commonly manufactured in Japan or China.

Some Chinese-made models operate at 230V, while Japanese-made models typically use a lower voltage.

As these differ from Singapore’s local voltage specifications, extra care is needed when using them, he said.

He also cautioned that even when the automatic mahjong table is not switched on, leaving it plugged into the power supply could still result in a fire if there is a problem with the electrical circuit.