SINGAPORE – Two fires in Tampines were reported within an hour on May 9.
The first, in a fifth-storey flat at Block 726 Tampines Street 71, was reported to the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) at about 12.15pm.
About 40 people were evacuated from the Tampines Housing Board block.
The fire involved a shelf in the flat’s living room and was extinguished with two water jets. The cause of the fire is under investigation, SCDF said.
One person was checked for minor injuries by SCDF personnel but declined to be taken to hospital.
In a Facebook post at about 8.30pm that same day, Tampines GRC MP Koh Poh Koon said the affected home owner and her two daughters had managed to evacuate safely when the fire broke out.
Neighbours had also tried to douse the fire using pails of water while waiting for firefighters from the SCDF to arrive, he said, thanking those who had helped.
The second, larger blaze was reported at about 12.50pm on May 9 – an industrial fire involving textile items in a three-storey industrial building at 18 Tampines Street 92.
Office workers in the vicinity and students from the nearby Middleton International School had to be evacuated as a result of the blaze, which caused plumes of dense black smoke that could be seen from a distance.
Firefighters used five water jets, an aerial monitor from a combined platform ladder, and an unmanned firefighting machine to tackle the blaze.
In its final update at around 11.10am on May 10, SCDF said the flames had been extinguished and damping down operations were ongoing, referring to the application of water to burnt surfaces immediately after a fire is put out to prevent rekindling.
SCDF said one person had a minor cut on his arm but declined to be taken to hospital.
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