77-year-old woman dies after fire at Bukit Panjang flat

Police said the 77-year-old woman was taken unconscious to hospital and subsequently died. A 62-year-old man was taken conscious to hospital.

SCDF said another person from a neighbouring unit was assessed for smoke inhalation and taken to Singapore General Hospital.

About 70 people were evacuated from the affected block as a precaution.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

SCDF said the top three causes of fires in residential premises are unattended cooking, electrical fires and unattended lighted materials.

It advised residents not to leave cooking unattended and to keep stovetops, cooker hoods and ovens clean and free of grease. Residents should also avoid overloading power sockets and charging devices overnight without supervision.

Lighted materials such as incense sticks and cigarettes should not be left unattended and should be fully extinguished before disposal.

The latest incident comes amid a spate of fatal residential fires since late July. 

On Jul 28, a 70-year-old man died after a fire broke out in a flat at Block 39 Circuit Road. 

Three days later, a person died in a fire at Block 309 Clementi Ave 4 that also injured two firefighters. 

On Aug 5, an 88-year-old man died two days after a fire at Block 684 Race Course Road that trapped four others in the flat, while a 67-year-old man died after another fire broke out in a Jurong East flat on Aug 16.

Earlier this month, a 68-year-old man died after a fire broke out in a flat at Lorong Lew Lian on Sep 1.