2 dead after fire in Jalan Bukit Merah flat, about 60 evacuated
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 ST 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 resident who lives on the fifth floor and wanted to be known only as Ah Hua, said he smelled smoke emitting from the burning unit at about 4pm.
He said he heard an explosion and his neighbours knocked on his door, asking him to evacuate.
Another resident, 55-year-old Bernard Lee, whose flat is directly above the unit that caught fire, said he was at work when his sister told him what had happened. He said he does not know the occupants of the affected unit.
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.
Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction
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