SINGAPORE – A fire broke out on Saturday morning (August 29) in one of the units at The Peak in Toa Payoh that led to 300 people being evacuated and another three going to the hospital.
According to the Singapore Civil Defense Force (SCDF), they received a distress call around 2:55 a.m. that a fire had broken out in Block 138C at The Peak, which sits along Lorong 1A Toa Payoh.
The fire involved the contents of a unit that was located on the 20th floor but managed to affect the unit directly above it on the 21st floor as well.
The SCDF firefighters arrived on the scene wearing breathing apparatus sets and immediately began attending to the fire once they reached the unit on the 20th floor. They managed to rescue two people in the unit that were inside the bathroom.
Meanwhile, another occupant of the unit had managed to self-evacuate before the SCDF arrived on the scene.
At the same time, firefighters also forced their way into the unit above on the 21st floor and managed to extinguish the ongoing fire inside that unit too. The residents of that unit succeeded in self-evacuating before the SCDF arrived.
According to the SCDF, one person had suffered from smoke inhalation and burn injuries, while another two complained of smoke inhalation, and were all transferred to the Singapore General Hospital. All three were located on the 20th floor.
The police also managed to evacuate another 300 individuals from the neighbouring units as a precautionary measure, but have since been able to return to their flats.
Member of Parliament for the area, Mr Chee Hong Tat, wrote on Facebook, “I would like to express my appreciation to our residents who alerted their neighbours and called SCDF last night.”
He continued, “Your quick response has helped to save lives and enabled affected residents to evacuate safely. I am heartened to learn about neighbours helping one another during this emergency. Thanks also to our SCDF firefighters for putting out the fire and keeping everyone safe.”
He added, “This incident is a reminder of the importance of fire safety and evacuation procedures and also of why residents must keep the common corridors and stairwells unblocked to ensure everyone’s safety.”
The cause of the fire is still currently under investigation. / TISG