Two fires break out in same Punggol HDB block; firefighters among six taken to hospital

SINGAPORE – Six people were taken to hospital after two fires broke out within an hour on separate floors of an HDB block in Punggol on the evening of May 1.

In response to queries, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it was alerted to a fire on the ninth floor of Block 223A Sumang Lane at around 6.50pm, and to another on the fourth floor at about 7.40pm.

The first blaze was linked to discarded items along the common corridor of the ninth floor, while the second blaze broke out in a flat on the lower floor.

Both fires were put out with hose reels, said the SCDF, with no injuries reported from the first blaze. The cause of both fires is under investigation.

In footage that appears to show the fire on the fourth floor, a large flame is seen billowing out the front door of a flat and spreading towards the ceiling of the corridor. A photo of the flat’s interior shows a charred bedroom with clothes, mattresses and wardrobes destroyed.

“The fire, which involved a bedroom in a fourth-floor unit, was extinguished using two hose reels,” said the SCDF.

Four people from the second incident were assessed for smoke inhalation. Three of them were taken to KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, while the other person was taken to Singapore General Hospital.

“Two firefighters who felt unwell during the firefighting operation were also taken to Singapore General Hospital as a precautionary measure,” said the SCDF, adding that they have both been discharged from hospital.

It is unclear if the other four people have returned from the hospitals.

The fire on the fourth floor is suspected to have been caused by a six-year-old boy playing with a lighter, according to Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao.

The owner of the flat was quoted by the Chinese newspaper as saying that he has lived in the two-bedroom unit for about eight years with his wife, who is eight weeks’ pregnant. They have four other children.

The parents and their two sons, aged six and two, were at home at the time of the incident. The six-year-old had been playing with a lighter in the bedroom, while the rest of the family was asleep, Lianhe Zaobao reported, citing the flat owner.

In its annual statistics report published in February, the SCDF said the total number of fires in Singapore increased by 3 per cent to 2,050 in 2025 – up from 1,990 in 2024.

Of these, 1,051 involved fires at residential buildings.