VIDEO: Man climbs out to ledge to escape Buangkok fire
He was walking past his kitchen window yesterday when he glanced towards the opposite block and saw thick, black smoke billowing out of a fifth-storey unit.
Worried that a fire might have broken out in the flat, Mr Mohd Anaffi called the police.
The 50-year-old supply worker said: "Then I waited at my kitchen window to see what would happen next."
To Mr Anaffi's horror, a man climbed out through a window of the unit on fire.
"He was barefoot and he climbed out, legs first, from the window. Then he held on to the sides of the window before turning his body round to face his flat.
"Other residents were shouting at him not to jump and I was worried that he would fall."
Mr Anaffi said Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) personnel arrived about five minutes later and rescued the man within five minutes by pulling him back into the unit.
The New Paper was alerted to the drama at Block 986D, Buangkok Crescent, by a hotline caller who wanted to be known only as Madam Rahimah.
The 30-year-old housewife said: "My husband heard the sirens of fire engines, so he went downstairs and was shocked when he saw a man standing on the ledge. We were worried but thankful that no one was hurt."
Another resident, Mr Jamal Muhd, 39, said: "The man was wearing only a pair of bermudas and I was wondering what he was trying to do.
RESCUE
"There was soot all over his body and he looked like he was about to jump. The firemen and police did a good job and were quick to rescue him."
The man's next-door neighbour, retiree K.C. Ho, 69, said he saw more than 10 SCDF and police officers in the corridor when he opened his door.
"I wasn't scared because I knew the situation was under control when I saw the SCDF personnel," he said.
The SCDF was alerted at 5.20pm and sent two fire engines, a Red Rhino, an ambulance and two support vehicles.
Its spokesman said the fire, which involved the contents of a living room, was put out with a water jet.
A man in his 30s, who was on a ledge outside the bedroom, was helped back in by SCDF officers.
He was taken to Singapore General Hospital for smoke inhalation.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
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