Man dies after fire at Woodlands flat

SINGAPORE — A 57-year-old man died after a fire broke out in a Housing and Development Board flat at Woodlands Crescent early yesterday morning.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it received a call for help at 3.18am. Upon arrival, firefighters found the living room and a study room on fire. The man, believed to be the owner of the flat in Block 788E, was found unconscious in the toilet.

After pulling him out of the unit, SCDF paramedics administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation, which continued as he was taken to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital.

A spokesperson for the hospital said the man was unconscious upon arrival. “Despite our medical team’s efforts to resuscitate him, he was pronounced dead at 4.32am,” the spokesperson said.

SCDF firefighters also rescued a 58-year-old woman and a 23-year-old man standing on a window ledge outside one of the bedrooms.

Both suffered smoke inhalation and were taken to the hospital. In addition, about 150 residents of the affected block were evacuated.

The SCDF said the fire — which was put out within 20 minutes — had started in a bedroom in the unit before spreading outwards, resulting in the room being “totally damaged” and the living room “partially damaged”. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Statistics published by the SCDF showed the total number of fires in homes fell 7.3 per cent from 2012 to 2,952 cases last year. In particular, the number of fires in public housing fell 8.5 per cent.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY TAN SHI WEI