A 44-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of mischief by fire after a blaze broke out in an 18th-floor HDB unit at MacPherson on Monday night (May 4), with eight people taken to hospital for smoke inhalation.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it was alerted to the blaze at about 9.40pm on Monday night. The fire engulfed the entire unit at Block 14 Joo Seng Road and was put out with two water jets.
Three people had evacuated from the affected unit before SCDF’s arrival. The eight injured were assessed for smoke inhalation and taken to Singapore General Hospital (SGH).
Two firefighters who felt unwell during the operation were also taken to SGH as a precaution.
The police told AsiaOne that a 44-year-old man was arrested at the scene for mischief by fire and investigations are ongoing.
Neighbours helped wheelchair-bound residents down the stairs
Nur’ain Ismail, 46, was in her second-floor bedroom when she heard shouting and a loud thud outside her window.
“I heard my neighbours shouting ‘Fire! Fire!'” she told AsiaOne.
“By the time I opened the door, everybody was already walking down the staircase. We just grabbed whatever we needed and evacuate.”
It was chaotic, she said.
Neighbours helped one another out, including elderly residents in wheelchairs who had to be carried down the stairs.
