Two toddlers rescued from fire in Singapore flat; 60 residents evacuated

Two police officers had rescued the two toddlers before SCDF personnel arrived. -SCDF/FACEBOOK

SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/Asia News Network): Two toddlers were rescued from a burning Housing Board flat in Marsiling on Wednesday (June 22) night.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said in a Facebook post on Thursday that it was alerted to the fire at Block 218 Marsiling Crescent around 10.40pm.

SCDF said that when firefighters arrived, fire was raging and thick black smoke was emitting from a second-storey unit.

"Firefighters from Woodlands Fire Station donned breathing apparatus sets and extinguished the fire with a water jet," SCDF said in its post.

The fire, which involved contents of a bedroom, caused the entire unit to be affected by heat and smoke damage.

Two police officers had rescued the two toddlers before SCDF arrived. They were found conscious in the living room.

A member of the public had attempted to force open the door of the affected unit to rescue the toddlers, SCDF added.

"SCDF will be reaching out to the person to commend him for his quick thinking and prompt action in attempting to rescue the toddlers," it said.

The toddlers were taken to KK Women's and Children's Hospital by two ambulances.

About 60 residents from neighbouring units were also evacuated as a precautionary measure.

SCDF is investigating the cause of the fire.

Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC MP Zaqy Mohamad told The Straits Times that the toddlers were in stable condition.

“We are in touch with the family and if all goes well, the toddlers will be discharged late today, latest tomorrow morning,” he said, adding that the affected unit is a rental flat.

Zaqy said HDB will be providing the family with temporary accommodation in the estate and that they would be able collect the keys by Thursday.

Block 218 is one of eight blocks in Marsiling Crescent and Marsiling Lane that will be acquired by HDB for the expansion of Woodlands Checkpoint, the authorities announced last month.

When ST visited the block at around 9am on Thursday, several items had been placed outside the affected unit, including a fridge.

The ceiling fan inside the two-room flat had melted and the bedroom’s windows were broken. An acrid smell lingered in the air.

A resident who declined to be named said he evacuated his home at around 10.20pm on Wednesday night and saw two young boys, aged three to four years old, being treated for minor burn wounds at the void deck.

“They were also given oxygen masks. I didn’t see them crying much, in fact they were quite quiet,” he said.

Student Rabian Ng, 16, who lives in the unit just next to the affected one, was sleeping when his brother’s girlfriend woke him up as she had heard the sound of a small explosion.

“It was all a blur, people were yelling at us to go down, but we were confused,” he said.

“We closed the door and all the windows, but smoke still came in. After a while, the police knocked on our door and asked us to go down.”

He added that the evacuated residents were allowed to return to their homes at around 12.30am.

Burmese maid Hnin Wittyinaing, 31, said she smelled smoke and quickly left home with her 85-year-old employer, who is a wheelchair user.

“We were very scared. There was so much smoke and it was very smelly,” she said.