A 77-year-old woman has died after being found unconscious during a fire at an HDB flat in Bukit Panjang, becoming the sixth person to die in a residential fire in Singapore since July 28.
The fire broke out at Block 126 Pending Road at around 3 p.m. on September 28, according to the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF). When firefighters arrived, black smoke was coming from a sixth-floor unit.
Firefighters found the woman unconscious inside the living room and brought her out of the unit. An SCDF paramedic and emergency medical technicians performed CPR before she was taken to Woodlands Hospital.
Police confirmed on September 30 that she had died, two days after the blaze.
A 62-year-old man from a neighbouring unit was also assessed for smoke inhalation and taken to Singapore General Hospital while conscious.
The fire involved items in the living room and was extinguished using one water jet. Authorities said the cause of the fire remains under investigation.
ABOUT 70 RESIDENTS EVACUATED
The incident prompted the evacuation of approximately 70 people from the affected block as a precaution.
When The Straits Times visited the location on September 30, smoke damage remained visible around the affected unit, with soot on the walls and ceiling and debris inside the area.
The latest death also adds to a series of fatal residential fires in Singapore in recent months.
According to SCDF figures cited by The Straits Times, there were six fire fatalities and 94 fire injuries in Singapore in 2025, while 2024 recorded seven deaths and 80 injuries. The number of fires increased from 1,990 in 2024 to 2,050 in 2025.
SCDF statistics also show that unattended cooking and electrical fires remained among the leading causes of residential fires in 2025.
For residents of Bukit Panjang and the wider community, the tragedy has brought renewed attention to fire safety in high-rise homes.
But with the cause of the Pending Road blaze still under investigation, authorities have yet to determine exactly what triggered the deadly fire.
WWC ONE MEDIA G,A
