1 taken to hospital after portable air-con causes fire in Tampines HDB flat

One person was taken to hospital after a fire broke out at Block 147 Tampines Avenue 5 on Monday morning (May 8).

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said in a statement on its Facebook page that they were alerted to the fire at 8.10am.

The fire involved the contents of a bedroom in a second-floor unit of the block and was extinguished by firefighters from Tampines and Changi fire stations with a water jet and two compressed air foam backpacks.

Preliminary investigations indicated that the fire was of electrical origin from a portable air-con unit which was placed inside the affected bedroom.

About 60 residents from the block were evacuated by SCDF and police as a precautionary measure and one person was taken to Singapore General Hospital (SGH) for smoke inhalation.

SCDF added that members of the public attempted to fight the fire using a hosereel prior to the arrival of the firefighters.

"SCDF will be reaching out to commend them for their swift action in responding to the emergency," they said.