Farrer Park blaze: Occupant rushed upstairs to alert sleeping elderly landlords

SINGAPORE — Mr Selvamony Karunakaran, 41, who lives in a landed property near Farrer Park MRT station, was having dinner on Friday (July 6) with his housemate when he heard an explosion at the front of the house.

As he ran towards the source of the explosion, he saw that the plastic roof on the front porch had caught fire.

Mr Karunakaran alerted his landlords — an elderly couple — and their son, who were upstairs when the fire broke. The elderly couple were already asleep.

“If I didn’t call them, they’ll be gone already. They’re like my father and mother. Sometimes they will cook for me. I feel pain inside,” said the construction worker, whose passport and work permit  were  lost in the fire.

Videos on social media showed a fire blazing, going up several storeys high.

The Singapore Police Force said they were first alerted to the incident at 8.52pm.

The blaze was brought under control by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) at about 10.45pm. A total of 14 firefighting and support vehicles were involved in the firefighting operation.

The SCDF said in Facebook post at 10.01pm that it was first alerted to a “residential fire incident at 82 Sing Avenue involving a private landed house”.

“Upon SCDF’s arrival the house was fully engulfed in flames.”

Firefighters work to put out the blaze at 82 Sing Ave on Friday (July 6). Photos: SCDF

In an update at 11pm, the SCDF said that "the fire was brought under control with seven water jets".

There were also no reported injuries as occupants of the affected house had "self-evacuated" prior to the SCDF's arrival.

It added: "SCDF firefighters braved the heat to surround the fire and prevented it from spreading to adjacent residences."

An eyewitness told TODAY: “I saw no one getting evacuated from the area. There was no ambulance either.”

“I was in the area at around 9pm and stayed for about ten minutes before the police told us to move away,” said sales executive Chew Boon Yeow, 42.

Pricing analyst Pauline Kek noticed the blazing inferno at around 9pm from her home nearby and drove down to investigate.

By the time she arrived, a huge crowd had already gathered near the site, and she described the situation as a little chaotic.

The 44-year-old said homeowners were “busy moving their vehicles out”, while others were just “watching and taking videos”.