A 77-year-old woman has died after being found unconscious during a fire at a Bukit Panjang flat on Sept. 28, becoming the latest fatality from a residential fire in Singapore.
The fire broke out at about 3pm at a sixth-floor unit at Block 126 Pending Road. When Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) firefighters arrived, black smoke was seen coming from the flat, where items in the living room were burning. The blaze was extinguished using one water jet.
Firefighters found the elderly woman unconscious inside the living room. An SCDF paramedic and emergency medical technicians performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation before she was taken to Woodlands Hospital. Police later confirmed on Sept. 30 that she had died in hospital.
A 62-year-old man from a neighbouring unit was also taken to Singapore General Hospital after experiencing smoke inhalation. About 70 residents from the affected block were evacuated as a precaution while emergency services dealt with the fire.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
The fatality comes amid several recent residential fire deaths in Singapore. A 68-year-old man died after a flat fire in Lorong Lew Lian on Sept. 1, while other fatal fires involving elderly residents have also been reported in recent months.
SCDF has previously identified unattended cooking, electrical incidents and unattended lighted materials among the leading causes of residential fires. Residents are advised to avoid leaving cooking unattended, keep electrical sockets from being overloaded and ensure items such as candles, incense and cigarettes are fully extinguished.
