5 taken to hospital after fire breaks out at Whampoa Heights; more than 40 people evacuated

A fire broke out at 20 Jalan Tenteram just before noon on Thursday (May 29), the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said.

A total of five people were sent to the hospital for smoke inhalation.

Two people were sent to Singapore General Hospital, another two were conveyed to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, and one person was sent to KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

In a Facebook post, the SCDF said it responded to the fire at about 11.40am and that the blaze involved items placed along the corridor outside a unit on the second and third floor.

The fire affected the inside of both these units, while a few neighboring units sustained heat and soot damage, according to the the Facebook post.

The SCDF added that the fire was extinguished with two water jets and about 40 people from the affected block were evacuated by the police and SCDF as a precautionary measure.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

In a TikTok video, the huge fire can be seen raging on the second and third storey of the residential block in Whampoa Heights with thick black plumes of smoke rising into the air.

When AsiaOne arrived at the scene around 2pm, the fire had already been put out and black smoke marks could be seen on the exterior of the block.

Inside the affected unit, the living room’s windows were badly damaged by the fire. Parts of the living room were also charred.

Firefighters and police were also spotted at the scene.

This is the second time a fire has broken out in the Whampoa Heights neighbourhood. 

Ten people, including three children, were injured in a fire at 22 Jalan Tenteram in February 2021. 

jengjee.hoon@asiaone.com

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