SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/Asia News Network): Some 20 people were evacuated from their homes after a fire broke out at a Housing Board flat in Little India on Tuesday (Oct 17) night.
In a Facebook post, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said that it was alerted to a fire in a third-floor unit at Block 662 Buffalo Road, at around 8pm.
“Before SCDF’s arrival, a man who was inside one of the bedrooms in the affected unit was rescued by police officers and members of the public, through the bedroom window that was facing the corridor,” said SCDF, noting that the man was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital.
“The fire, which involved the contents of the living room and kitchen, was extinguished by SCDF using two water jets. As a result of the fire, the rest of the unit sustained heat and soot damage,” the SCDF added.
In a TikTok video of the incident circulating online, the inside of a flat can be seen engulfed in flames as black columns of smoke rise from one of the flat’s windows. Shouts and an ambulance siren can be heard in the video.
When The Straits Times arrived at the scene at around 8.45pm, the blaze had been put out but there was a crowd of up to 50 bystanders gathered across the block, watching as the fire fighters made their way into the affected unit to inspect it.
Three fire trucks, two ambulances, five police cars and a SCDF van could be seen near Little India MRT station.
A cordon was put up around the block, snaking to Tekka Centre. A few police officers and firefighters were heard advising the public to stay behind the cordon for their safety.
Police officers also directed people to walk on the grass patches instead of the sheltered area, which had been cordoned off.
One bystander, Masitho Sallehuddin, said: “I was walking to the bus stop near Tekka Centre at about 8.30pm, but I stopped after seeing several flashing lights which were the ambulances and SCDF trucks. But the fire was already put out.”
Despite that, the 26-year-old supervisor at a manpower agency said that she remained there for close to an hour to watch the rest of the situation unfold.
Drinks stall owner at Tekka Centre, Mr D’Rahman Hassan, said he was told of the fire by fellow stall owners.
The 47-year-old said: “I came to the shop at around 8pm to take money (from the cashbox) and I saw that the whole road (near Tekka market) was blocked so I asked around to find out what happened.
“People near my shop said there was a bad fire around. Judging by the amount of vehicles, it seems like it was very bad and dangerous.”
The police and SCDF evacuated about 20 residents from the affected block as a precautionary measure.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
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