Woodlands fire: Elderly man dashed into burning flat to save wife and cat

SINGAPORE – Despite having difficulty walking, Mr Abd Hamzah Midi, 61, did not hesitate to rush back into his one-room rental flat to save his wife when a fire broke out in the unit at Block 806 Woodlands Street 81 in the early hours of Monday (Dec 19) morning.

His wife, Madam Siti Aminah Khamis, was in the kitchen with their cat then, while he was in the corridor on the fifth floor, outside their unit.

Mr Abd Hamzah, who walks with a limp, told Berita Harian: "It was scary but I didn't care because my wife was inside. I had to save her and the cat."

Madam Siti said she grabbed hold of him and the two escaped together.

She said: "At first, I thought I could hide in the toilet, but luckily I didn't because the fire got larger and engulfed the whole flat."

The 56-year-old managed to escape mostly unscathed, save for a small cut on her right hand.

The fire is believed to have started from a personal mobility aid (PMA) in the living room.

Before smoke began to envelop the corridor, Mr Abd Hamzah said he tried to sound the alert by shouting for help while his wife called their daughter, who lives on the sixth floor in another rental flat.

Their daughter, Ms Siti Hairah Abd Hamzah, 30, was watching the World Cup final at the time. Smoke had already begun to fill up most of the corridor when she went down to the fifth floor.

She saw neighbours rushing out of their flats, and she helped her parents to make their way to the void deck.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it was alerted to the fire at 2am on Monday. About 100 people were evacuated from the block as a precautionary measure.

Three people were taken to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital for smoke inhalation, with preliminary investigations revealing that the fire was of electrical origin.

Madam Siti said the PMA was bought by her second son, who is a GrabFood deliveryman, on Carousell. His parents recounted that the PMA's battery had made a clicking noise before catching fire.

Ms Siti said the battery – which was bought from another person, separately from the PMA – was already defective before it was sold, but this information was not revealed by the seller. Her brother learnt that it was an expired battery only after the fire occurred.

Warning people about fires of electrical origin, SCDF said they should not charge batteries for an extended period or overnight. It added: "Do not purchase or use non-original batteries."

Meanwhile, the Housing Board has obtained a temporary residence for the couple – who are putting up with their daughter – at Block 180C Marsiling Road.

The Sembawang Town Council will help to clean and repair affected units, said Sembawang GRC MP Mariam Jaafar. Ms Mariam was watching the World Cup final at the nearby Woodlands Community Club (CC) when the fire broke out.

"A group of grassroots leaders headed down (to the block) right away, while a few of us briefed the team at the CC and contacted the relevant agencies before heading over," she said.

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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.