Fire at terraced houses in Joo Chiat; 1 taken to hospital, 20 others evacuated

SINGAPORE – A fire broke out at a row of terraced houses in Joo Chiat in the early hours of Dec 17.

One person was taken to Singapore General Hospital after inhaling smoke from the fire.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said in a Facebook post on Dec 17 that it was alerted to the fire, which was burning in three single-storey terraced units and spreading to adjacent units, in Chiku Road at about 4am.

About 20 people from the affected and neighbouring units were evacuated by the police and SCDF as a precautionary measure.

The fire was extinguished at 6.45am after firefighters set up water jets to surround and contain the fire to the three units. A total of seven water jets were deployed at the height of the operation, said SCDF.

It also deployed a combined platform ladder for aerial firefighting and to prevent the further spread of the fire.

Six adjacent terraced units had varying degrees of burn damage because of the fire.

Damping down, which refers to applying water to wet burnt surfaces immediately after a fire is put out to prevent rekindling of the fire, of the affected area is ongoing.

When The Straits Times arrived at the scene at 8am, the stretch of Joo Chiat Place from Still Road to Rambutan Road was cordoned off.

Mr Bappy Rubayat Hossain, a plastering worker from Bangladesh, told ST that he was sleeping when someone alerted him to the fire.

The 35-year-old had to escape by wading in the rain through a drain behind his unit because the fire was blocking his other escape routes.

Mr Kannan Alagappan, a site engineer from India, said he heard three explosions coming from the fire at about 4am.

He added that the fire was “very strong”, extending two metres above the roof of the terraced units.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, said SCDF.

The Straits Times has contacted police for more information.

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