'I really thought I was going to die': Fire breaks out in Mei Ling Street HDB flat, leaving woman trapped next door

SINGAPORE: Another frightening incident happened when a fire broke out in an HDB flat on Mei Ling Street, trapping a female tenant in the next-door apartment. Due to the accident, the woman was shaken, stating that she really thought it was the end of the world for her.

Case details revealed that a fire occurred in a 10th-floor unit at the said location, in which two people were hospitalised after inhaling smoke. In an interview, the male homeowner admitted that the fire was suspected to have been caused by a candle falling, which had also injured his left leg as a result.

Further investigations showed that the walls of the affected unit were really blackened by the blaze, and the electrical wiring of the unit was also burned. At the same time, the adjacent unit was also affected, given that the bedroom window near the corridor, the ceiling fan, and the air conditioning inside the room were melted, as reported by Shin Min Daily News. 

Due to this, a 33-year-old female employee became trapped in the next unit, which she had been renting for eight years now, together with another couple. She explained that she works late at night, so she was sleeping when the incident occurred at noon. She admitted that she noticed a sudden power outage in the house, and when she checked what was going on, she saw thick smoke coming in from the couple’s bedroom. When she opened the front door, she then knew that the unit next door was on fire. 

“I ran back to get the keys to open the door, but the fire had spread to the doorway and I was trapped… I really thought I was going to die!” the woman admitted. 

According to her, the thick smoke slowly drifted into their storage room, and she began to have difficulty breathing. Moreover, she heard three explosions, which frightened her. 

“After I opened the storage room window, I tried to get attention by banging on it. Although other residents noticed me, they were powerless to do anything about it,” she declared.

Thankfully, the civil defence personnel rescued her just in time, and she was sent to the hospital for medical treatment after inhaling smoke. After a check-up, she was discharged and immediately returned to her hometown in Malaysia. She has also mentioned to her landlord that she is planning to terminate her lease. 

In other news relating to fire incidents, there was also a report that a kitchen fire broke out in a unit on the 11th floor of an HDB block in Yishun on Oct 21, leaving four people with minor injuries.

According to reports from 8world, the fire involved items in the kitchen. Members of the public used fire hoses to extinguish it before the authorities arrived.

Read more about the news story here.