Man mocked for fighting car fire with crowbar says he smashed windshield to prevent explosion

The New Paper
April 26, 2023
   
A man who was mocked by netizens after he appeared in a video trying to put out a car fire using a crowbar, has explained his actions. 

Last Friday (April 21), a video showing a man attempting to put out a fire with a crowbar was uploaded onto Sgfollowsall's Instagram page.

The clip quickly earned several jibes and wisecracks from viewers who couldn't fathom what the man was doing. 

Even the caption read: “Fire 'fighter' fighting fire with stick?”

Speaking to Shin Min Daily News, the man in the video, Lin Yufeng, explained that the fire on April 13 started from inside a locked BMW car that belonged to his business partner.

Lin, 37, was in his shop in Desker Road when he noticed the flames inside the car, which was parked just outside. 

Worried that the car might explode, he grabbed a crowbar from the shop and smashed the windshield. 

Lin's business partner then used a fire extinguisher to put out the flames.

The incident occurred around 1.45am, and SCDF said that “members of the public extinguished the fire using a dry powder extinguisher prior to (their) arrival”.

Regarding the comments ridiculing him on social media, Lin said he was rather peeved when he read them, as he knew he wasn't acting out of panic. 

He also uploaded a video on his personal Facebook page to explain his actions. 

Lin's business partner, Lin Yisheng, 26, told Shin Min that the car is a second-hand BMW he purchased just eight months ago. 

The cause of the fire is under investigation.