1 Dead, 1 Injured Due to Fire Caused by Personal Mobility Device
One person died and another occupant was injured due to a recent fire that occurred in a flat at a housing board block in Jurong West. The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said that the fire, which involved the contents of a bedroom, was caused by a personal mobility device. It was extinguished by a water jet.
A 22-year-old man found in the aforementioned bedroom was pronounced dead at the scene by a paramedic. A 24-year-old unconscious man, who had been evacuated from the flat before the arrival of SCDF, was taken to Singapore General Hospital for burn injuries.
Two people who were seen standing on a ledge outside the unit were also rescued. They were assessed by paramedics and declined to be brought to a hospital, SCDF stated.
SCDF were alerted to a fire at Block 978 Jurong West Street 93 at around 2:25 a.m. Upon SCDF's arrival, the fire could be seen from inside a fifth-floor unit.
Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus sets headed into the unit, carried out forced entry into a bedroom and rescued the two individuals from the ledge, bringing them to safety. Meanwhile, the police evacuated approximately 60 people from nearby units.
According to SCDF, two firefighters at the scene were affected by heat exhaustion.
"Two firefighters were assessed by paramedics to have experienced heat exhaustion and were conveyed to Ng Teng Fong Hospital as a precautionary measure," SCDF said.
"They have since been discharged from the hospital."
Written by Sophia Lopez