SINGAPORE - A couple left their daughter's wedding prematurely on Sunday (Oct 31) when they learnt that their Yishun flat had caught fire.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it put out a fire in the living room of a seventh-floor unit at Block 139 Yishun Ring Road, after being alerted to it at about 3.45pm.
The flat owner and father of the bride, who declined to be named, said the family had left home at around 9am after completing the morning's wedding festivities.
"We were busy the whole day. It was around 4pm when a neighbour called to tell us that our home was on fire," he told Chinese news outlet Shin Min Daily News.
"I thought he was joking at first but the police also called to inform me shortly after. So my wife, son and I rushed home."
The police evacuated about 50 people from the block.
Firefighters broke into the unit and used a water jet to extinguish the fire, which the SCDF said involved a shelf in the living room.
The fire did not spread beyond the living room but it left the room's ceiling and walls charred, Shin Min reported.
The flat owner said he suspects that the fire was caused by the candles that his family left burning at an altar in the flat.
"In theory, it shouldn't be an issue. I'm not sure what happened but I'm thankful no one was hurt."
This was the first of three fires that broke out within an 18-hour period here.
The SCDF responded to another fire at about 5.30pm on Sunday at 25A Chai Chee Road, a block of Housing Board shops, but the blaze was put out before it arrived.
On Monday morning, another fire broke out in a flat at Block 415 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10.
The SCDF said it was alerted to the fire at around 9.15am and arrived to see black smoke billowing from a window on the fourth floor.
About 60 residents were evacuated from the block.
The occupants were not in the flat when firefighters arrived.
SCDF firefighters entered the smoke-logged unit and extinguished the fire - which involved the contents of the flat - with a water jet.
Firefighters on a combined platform ladder used a second water jet to tackle the fire from outside, at the rear of the block, the SCDF said.
No injuries were reported in the three fires and their causes are being investigated.
This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.
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