One person rescued and taken to hospital after fire breaks out in Tampines flat

Chinese-language daily Shin Min Daily News reported that a resident living in the same block said she became aware of the incident only after hearing the sirens of fire engines.

“I saw a large fire in the bedroom of that unit, with thick smoke billowing out,” she was quoted as saying.

The resident, who was not named in the article, said at least five fire engines, three police cars and an ambulance were at the scene. She also saw SCDF officers rushing up the stairs with hoses.

Footage provided by the resident shows the exterior wall above the bedroom window of the affected unit blackened by smoke, while officers continued spraying water into the room.

The resident added that she heard SCDF officers on the 11th floor calling out to other rescue personnel below the block for a first-aid kit. An elderly man was later seen being carried downstairs on a stretcher while wearing an oxygen mask, and was taken away in an ambulance.

The resident told the Chinese daily that investigations at the unit continued past 1am on Feb 20, while hoses were being removed from the scene.

A fire engine and a police car remained at the block until about 2am.

Shin Min Daily reported that the entire incident lasted more than two hours.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

The number of residential fires rose from 968 cases in 2024 to 1,051 cases in 2025, reflecting an 8.6 per cent increase, based on statistics released by SCDF in February.

Unattended cooking and electrical faults were the two leading causes of home fires, SCDF said.