48-year-old woman dies after fire at densely packed Ang Mo Kio flat

SINGAPORE — A 48-year-old woman has died after a fire broke out in a densely packed Housing and Development Board flat in Ang Mo Kio on Friday (March 5) morning. 

Her 20-year-old son was also hurt. 

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said in a Facebook post that it was alerted to the blaze at 6.10am at a flat on the 11th storey of Block 456 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10.

Firefighters forced their way into the unit.

The fire engulfed the living room owing to the “vast accumulation of combustible items”, SCDF said. 

“Firefighters' movement within the unit was severely impeded, as they had to carefully manoeuvre over the heaps of items to conduct firefighting operations.”

Firefighters rescued the 20-year-old man who was trapped in the kitchen toilet and the woman from a bedroom. She was not breathing and had no pulse.

SCDF crew performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the woman and both casualties were taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital in Novena. The police said that the pair were unconscious on their way to the hospital, where the woman died from her injuries.

Based on preliminary investigations, no foul play is suspected. Probes into the cause of the fire and the unnatural death are under way.

The fire was put out with a water jet and a compressed air foam backpack.

Photos of the burnt flat posted to SCDF’s Facebook page showed large mounds of what appeared to be clothes, boxes and containers piled up on the floor.

About 30 people evacuated from the block of their own accord before firefighters arrived.

SCDF warned the public that the excessive accumulation of combustible items within homes can block escape paths and hinder firefighting efforts.

“Residents are urged not to accumulate combustible items, such as newspapers, furniture and clothes, within their units, as these can fuel a fire causing serious damage and may even be life-threatening.”