‘I still feel guilty': Man who tried to save pair in fatal Bukit Merah blaze wishes he could have done more

CNA

2 days ago

SINGAPORE: He may have crawled through thick smoke in an attempt to break into a burning Bukit Merah flat to rescue two people trapped within. But 39-year-old Wan feels nothing but guilt.
'Because I could not save them,' he told CNA in an emotional phone interview on Thursday (Aug 14). 'When I see the video (of the fire), I still want to cry; I try to talk, but I can't."
A 34-year-old man and a 32-year-old woman died after a fire broke out in a Housing and Development Board (HDB) flat at Block 106 Jalan Bukit Merah the day before. Sixty people were also evacuated from the affected block.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) has said that preliminary findings indicate the fire could have started from a battery pack of a personal mobility device (PMD) in the living room.
When firefighters arrived, the living room and bedroom of a fourth-floor unit were on fire, and two people were found unresponsive in the kitchen. They were taken unconscious to Singapore General Hospital (SGH), where they died.
Wan, a lifting supervisor, had just got home from work at about 4pm when he saw smoke streaming from a fourth-floor unit in his block. He also spotted the woman screaming for help from one of the windows.
He declined to give his full name, saying he did not want to draw attention to himself.
For Wan, who had served in the SCDF during his National Service, instinct kicked in: He decided then and there to do everything he could to save the pair.
"My thinking is just to help them ... I didn't care about myself," he said.
He ran up to the fourth floor, only to find the smoke too thick to pass through. On the way, he met a young man and an older neighbour, who joined him in trying to help the pair.
They hurried to the fifth floor and found a safer route to the burning unit. Armed with fire extinguishers, they dropped to all fours to avoid the smoke.
Wan then saw that the door to the unit was open, but the gate was locked. "We tried to ask them to throw the keys to us," he said, but there was no response.
Attempts to break the lock failed, as did their bid to put out the flames with the fire extinguisher, which was "too small", said Wan.
"We couldn't pull them out, and that was when I said to (the young man) let's evacuate, the smoke is too thick for us."
As they made their way down, they saw firefighters rushing up to douse the flames. Soon after, he heard a few explosions from the unit.
Asked why he decided to risk his life, Wan played down his heroics.
"When we proceeded to the house, the fire wasn't so big yet ... when we were (in the corridor), we couldn't see the fire," he said.
Despite going above and beyond in an attempt to save lives, Wan remains haunted by the scenes of the fire.
"I cannot sleep, because I can still see the person put her hand out (of the window)," he said.
Throughout the interview, he repeated that he could have saved them if the unit's gate had been unlocked.
'If the gate was open, maybe the two would have a 50 per cent chance to live,' he said. 'It was my intention to bring them out, and I talked to my wife and told her I still feel guilty.
'My mum also called me and said, 'You tried your best, but unfortunately, God willing, you can't try anything more.'"
"IT'S QUITE BAD"
Meanwhile, other neighbours of the affected unit, which is in a block of one-room flats, were left reeling after the fire rendered their homes temporarily uninhabitable.
The blaze damaged the house of 70-year-old Mahmood Kadir and landed his wife in hospital.
When the fire started at about 4pm on Wednesday, Mr Mahmood was at work, but his wife was at home. Noticing a burning smell, she opened the door and was hit by a wall of thick smoke.
SCDF officers soon ushered her downstairs and assessed that she needed to be hospitalised.
Mr Mahmood said his wife, 69, had a pre-existing lung condition, which was worsened by inhaling the smoke. She was one of two people taken to the hospital.
He was thankful that his wife, who will be discharged on Thursday, is recovering well. However, she is still traumatised by the close shave.
"I thank God, because it happened at four o'clock. If it happened at nighttime, how? Just imagine if we sleep and it happens," Mr Mahmood said.
After visiting his wife in hospital on Wednesday night, Mr Mahmood, a security officer, wandered aimlessly around the estate, managing only about 15 minutes of shut-eye on some seats at the foot of the block.
In the aftermath of the blaze, neighbour Bernard Francis had to throw away fans and cushions blanketed in ash. A layer still coats the floor of his unit.
'It's quite bad, there's no lights, nothing,' he said. Power to surrounding units was cut in the wake of the fire, and as of Thursday afternoon, residents were unsure when it would be restored.
Mr Francis, a 67-year-old security officer, said he had no home insurance and was at a loss over his next steps.
He also said that a few days ago, he observed an e-bike charger hanging outside the door of the affected unit, and he suspected e-bike batteries to be the cause of the fire.
GROUPS STEPPING IN TO HELP
CNA observed on Thursday morning several grassroots volunteers and HDB officers speaking with residents of affected units to offer assistance.
Mr Mohammad Talip, whose family lives diagonally opposite the site of the blaze, said that last night, he, his wife and their three young children stayed at a community service centre on the first floor of the block run by Jamiyah, a welfare organisation.
'It's not easy to get a unit very fast, right? It takes time,' said the 32-year-old traffic marshall, referring to alternative accommodation.
Member of Parliament for Radin Mas SMC Melvin Yong said in a Facebook post late on Wednesday that the priority was to reach out to families of the deceased to render support and assistance, and also to help arrange temporary accommodation for affected residents.
Bedding and other essentials, such as food and water, have also been secured by grassroots leaders for affected residents, Mr Yong added.
The neighbours told CNA they were not close to the duo in the burned-down unit, as they had just moved in about two weeks ago. They were nonetheless saddened.
'Because we are neighbours, I also feel sad that they passed away even though we were not in close contact,' said Mr Mahmood.
'They were nice people,' said Mr Talip. 'They're very kind, and I was surprised this thing happened.'
The Bukit Merah fire follows several other HDB flat fires this year.