SINGAPORE – A family celebrating Hari Raya in Pasir Ris put festivities on hold after a fire broke out at a nearby block on March 22, prompting three men in the family to help extinguish the flames.
One of the men, Mr Pravin @ Kayden Zaqarya Abdullah, caught the attention of netizens after a video of him attempting to put out the fire while in his white “jubah” – also commonly known as a thobe – made the rounds online.
Muslims in Singapore celebrated Hari Raya Aidilfitri on March 21, and festivities usually carry on for about a month.
Mr Kayden’s wife, who asked to be known only as Ms Icha, said they were visiting her aunt when they suddenly heard the sound of a bell ringing and smelled something burning at around 8.30pm that night.
Mr Kayden then noticed a fire at the first-floor rubbish chute of the block opposite them.
“He immediately went down and opened the shutter (to the rubbish chute and) that’s when we saw how big the fire was,” said Ms Icha, adding that her two brothers went down to help Mr Kayden.
In a video of the incident, Mr Kayden and a member of the public are seen using fire extinguishers to fight the blaze. In another cut of the video, another man is seen using a hose to put out the fire.
Officers from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) and an SCDF vehicle is later seen at the scene, with the fire extinguished.
In response to a media query, SCDF said it was alerted to the fire at Block 150 Pasir Ris Street 13 at around 8.30pm that night.
It said members of the public had extinguished the fire using a hosereel and dry powder fire extinguishers before the arrival of its officers.
There were no reported injuries.
The fire involved contents in a centralised rubbish chute at the ground floor, said SCDF, adding that the cause of the fire is under investigation.
Ms Icha said it took around 10 minutes for the fire to be put out.
She said her husband had no reservations about helping put out the flame as it was a natural response for the 31-year-old paramedic at a private company, who has helped out multiple times in other critical situations such as when responding to traffic accidents.