Netizens have rallied behind a family whose HDB flat in Hougang was gutted by a fire after a resident appealed for help online to cover renovation costs, with more than $65,000 raised within a day.
In response to Stomp’s queries, SCDF said the fire broke out at Block 238 Hougang Avenue 1 at around 1.30am on May 19. The blaze involved the contents of a bedroom in a 12th-floor unit, and two people were taken to Singapore General Hospital after the incident.
One of the residents, who goes by @helloimbright on Instagram, shared in a June 1 post that an extension plug had caught fire after he left the house for supper.
“My entire room burned down, causing both my parents to end up in the burns ICU (they’re both still in the hospital at the time of this posting),” he wrote, adding that he felt there was “no shame in asking for some help in a situation like this”.
Accompanying the post were photos showing charred remains of the room — its walls and furniture blackened with soot and windows shattered. An individual, presumably one of the resident’s parents, who had been in the flat at the time of the fire, was seen hooked up to medical equipment in the hospital.
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The resident explained that the family’s fire insurance did not cover most of the damage.
“The cost of the full restoration to the house + replacement of my gear etc that was lost in the fire is actually really high hence >>>> fundraising campaign,” he wrote, adding that a fundraising campaign was linked in his bio and thanking the public for their support.
‘Our savings will completely disappear’: Resident
According to information posted on the Give.asia campaign page, the resident’s parents had collapsed in the flat during the fire, barely managing to call for help.
“(His father) managed to save his family’s life by choking through the smoke and carbon monoxide poisoning to call SCDF. Bright’s mother also lost consciousness in the toilet due to carbon monoxide poisoning,” the post read.
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