Family escaped injuries from Samsung washing machine which burst into flames

A Samsung washing machine burst into flames at a flat in Block 469 Segar Road in the Bukit Panjang area. The incident happened yesterday (9 Nov) at about 12pm.

The resident of the flat in which the incident happened, Mr Rafiq (51) said that his 16-year-old daughter who was using the machine fortunately escaped being harmed by the burning machine. Besides his 16-year-old daughter, his wife (42) and another 11-year-old daughter were also in the flat when the machine burnt.

Mr Rafiq said that he paid $400 to buy the washing machine about 4 years ago and that the machine was placed in the kitchen next to the toilet. Rafiq added that his wife felt that something was amiss when she detected a burning smell. She was surprised to discover the machine fiercely burning.

Several neighbours who detected the smoke also came forward to help, but could not do much because of the intensity of the fire and smoke. They asked the woman and her daughters to vacate the flat and called the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) and Police for assistance.

Lianhe Zaobao which first reported the news said that the washing machine was burnt into a scrap metal and that all the clothings in it were also burnt.

SCDF which despatched a fire engine, two red rhinos, two fire-fighting motorcycles and a support vehicle to the scene used a compressed air foam backpack to extinguish the fire. It reported that no one was injured in the incident.

Samsung last week voluntarily recalled almost 3 million washing machines in the USA saying they can explode. The electronics giant was hit with a class action lawsuit over the exploding machines in August. A customer in Texas, USA said that her washer “exploded with such ferocity that it penetrated the interior wall of her garage.”

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This is an in-house report.