Jalan Bukit Merah flat blaze leaves two dead, dozens evacuated

New Paper

2 days ago

Two people in their 30s have died after a fire broke out in a Bukit Merah flat on Aug 13.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said in an evening Facebook post that it responded to the fire at Block 106 in Jalan Bukit Merah at about 4pm.
When firefighters arrived at the scene, the living room and bedroom of a unit on the fourth floor were in flames, with SCDF personnel making use of a water jet to extinguish the blaze.
In the midst of putting out the blaze, firefighters found two people in the kitchen.
Both were unconscious and taken to Singapore General Hospital, where they subsequently died.
In response to queries, the police said the deceased were a 34-year-old man and a 32-year-old woman, and they do not suspect foul play based on preliminary investigations.
Police investigations are ongoing.
Another two people from neighbouring units were also taken to the same hospital - one felt unwell while the other suffered from smoke inhalation.
In total, about 60 people from the affected block were evacuated as a precautionary measure. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
When The Straits Times arrived at the scene at about 7.30pm, two fire engines and three police cars were seen parked near the block, with a police cordon set up.
Several residents could also be seen standing around the carpark, with some speaking to SCDF officers.
A friend of the deceased man, who declined to be named, told ST that he saw the man and his girlfriend shouting for help at a window.
"She was shouting, 'Brother, help me!' in Malay and he was hugging her from behind. I recognised him from the tattoos on his arm," he said.
The self-employed 41-year-old said he told them the SCDF was on its way before running from his block to try to help them.
He added that he later saw the woman trying in vain to rescue her cat by passing it to SCDF firefighters through the window.
When they were taken out of the unit on stretchers, he saw their clothes and bodies had been burnt. "As a friend, I feel very sad that I couldn't do more to save them."
A lifting supervisor who wanted to be known only as Wan, said he and his wife were sitting at the block's pavilion when he noticed smoke emitting from the affected unit.
Seconds later, the 39-year-old heard a loud explosion and he rushed upstairs with concern as his friend lives on the same floor as the victims.
He said he tried to crawl through the thick smoke to reach the occupants in the burning unit, and had also "tried to ask them to throw out their keys, but no one responded".
A neighbour, who lives across from the victims' unit and wanted to be known as Ms Zelah, said the couple were friends of the flat owner.
Ms Zelah, 36, said they had just moved in a month ago and owned an e-bike as she had seen someone delivering a charger for the device only a few days ago.
At about 9.40pm, Mr Melvin Yong, the MP for Radin Mas SMC, arrived at the block and was seen speaking to residents.
After doing his rounds, he told the media he would be reaching out to the families of the two victims to provide support and assistance.
He said he was also working with the Housing Board to arrange temporary accommodation for residents who were unable to return home because the SCDF is still carrying out damping works.
About 20 residents had indicated they needed assistance with temporary housing, but Mr Yong said some had later managed to seek help from their families and friends, and the final number is yet to be finalised.
This incident marks eight fire-related deaths so far in 2025 - an increase from five in 2024 and three in 2023, according to SCDF statistics.
The most recent fire-related deaths occurred in July when a 56-year-old man and a 61-year-old woman were pronounced dead by an SCDF paramedic.
They had been found unconscious in a second-storey unit at Block 173 Toa Payoh Lorong 1 after its living room caught fire.