One dead after fire at Upper Serangoon HDB flat

Seah also thanked the SCDF for its quick response, adding that work is being done to help the residents affected by the fire.

“Thanks too to neighbours and all for coming together to help those who are impacted by the fire,” he said.

The SCDF assessed three other people, one for smoke inhalation and two others for breathlessness. They were taken to Singapore General Hospital and Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

As a precaution, about 30 people from the affected block were evacuated by the police and the SCDF.

When The Straits Times arrived at about 6.50pm, there were about three SCDF vehicles and four police cars at the scene.

A resident living on the 12th floor of the building, who gave her name as Zoki, said: “I smelled gas burning, and I looked out of the window and saw thick black smoke.

“I knew it must’ve been really bad if the smoke looked like that (from up here).”

The 28-year-old part-time warehouse assistant said she always noticed that a unit on the third floor had plenty of clutter outside.

“There will be all sorts of things. Cages, cabinets, everything,” she said.

Student Derrly Sherwin who also lives on the third floor, said he was woken up when his mother yelled for him to evacuate.

The 17-year-old ran down with his mother and brother. They waited downstairs for almost two hours.

“The man was in his 60s and he had a daughter in her 30s living with him. He would offer me drinks and was very nice,” he said, referring to the flat’s occupants.

Another resident, who lives on the sixth floor, said he was about 10 minutes away from home when his wife called in a panic.

The man, who wanted to be known only as Zaf, said: “I have a newborn son who’s almost one month old and a four-year-old daughter. I immediately rushed back and ran up to my unit even though officers told me I couldn’t.”

When he got home, his daughter was bawling. She was unable to breathe because of the smoke.

“I didn’t care about anything. I could only think of my wife and kids,” the 28-year-old said.

“We got out of the unit and sat outside where we have a fan. We gave my daughter lots of water and calmed her down.”

Zaf, who is a former fireman, said his wife told him she heard a man from the third floor shouting “Tolong, tolong!” (“Help, help!”) when the fire first started.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. This marks the fifth death from a residential fire since July 28.