Hougang PMD fire: Man leaps from 2nd floor window, wife allegedly throws son to safety

Amid a raging inferno in their flat, a man jumped from the window to escape, while his wife reportedly threw their son to safety.

The fire broke out on Friday (Aug 16) at around 12.50am in the second floor unit of Block 313 Hougang Avenue 5.

An eyewitness told Shin Min Daily News that he saw ambulances and fire trucks arriving to the block in the early hours of the morning, with thick smoke billowing out of the windows.

A resident, who declined to be named, said that he rushed downstairs from the seventh floor after hearing shouts of "fire, fire".

"I saw an uncle lying on the ground. One of his ankles was injured and he couldn't move," he said.

The resident said that the injured man had jumped out from the second-floor kitchen window to escape the flames and was heard shouting, "there's people still in the house".

The man's wife had reportedly thrown their son downstairs for him to catch. Their son's age was not mentioned in the report. 

The resident said that the woman later considered jumping from the burning flat, but she was told to wait for the arriving Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) personnel.

In a Facebook post shared later that day, the SCDF said that firefighters from Sengkang Fire Station and Paya Lebar Fire Station responded to a fire in Hougang.

Upon their arrival, the living room of a unit on the second floor was on fire, and one person was trapped inside the unit.

Firefighters immediately forced their way through the front door to enter the smoke-logged unit, and brought the person out to safety after finding her in the kitchen.

The fire was later extinguished with a water jet. The entire living room was damaged and the rest of the unit sustained heat and soot damage.

The SCDF said in the post: "Four persons were assessed by SCDF paramedics. Two were sent to Singapore General Hospital and one was sent to Changi General Hospital. One person declined to be sent to hospital.

"About 30 people from the neighbouring units were evacuated by the police as a precautionary measure."

Preliminary investigation indicates that the fire had likely started from a personal mobility device (PMD) that was in the living room, according to the SCDF.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

SCDF reiterated that it is not advisable to charge batteries for an extended period of time, leave them charging overnight. or purchase and use non-original batteries. 

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chingshijie@asiaone.com