Man saves paralysed mother from Serangoon North flat fire
When burning debris fell onto the mattress, he quickly helped his mother into the study room.
A man helped his paralysed mother to safety and dragged a burning mattress away with the help of a tenant, as a fire apparently caused by an electrical fault broke out in a Serangoon North flat.
According to Shin Min Daily News, the incident took place on Sept 16 at about 8pm in a unit at Block 502 Serangoon North Avenue 4.
Corridor badly damaged
When reporters visited the scene at around 10pm, residents had already been allowed to return home. However, the corridor outside the affected unit was badly damaged, and the power supply had been cut.
A neighbour, who only wished to be known as Ms Chen, 48, said that she was in the living room when her daughter noticed smoke billowing from a unit. By the time she rushed out to check, the corridor was already filled with thick smoke.
"The smoke kept getting denser, so we ran downstairs and waited for about an hour," said Ms Chen.
Man helps paralysed mother to safety
According to neighbours on the same floor, the unit is home to a woman who was left paralysed after being severely injured by a falling tree trunk several years ago.
When reporters returned to the scene on Sept 17, they spoke to the woman's son, who only wished to be known as Mr Wang, 33.
He said that his mother had been preparing to soak her feet and had switched on an electric foot bath to heat the water. But shortly after she turned it off, a fire broke out.
When burning debris fell onto a mattress, he quickly helped his mother into the study room. Together with a female tenant, they managed to drag the burning mattress into the corridor.
Mr Wang later accompanied his mother to hospital. "By the time I got home at 2am, the main door was locked, so I spent the night downstairs," he said.
Apart from experiencing some mild chest pains, his mother was otherwise fine, he added, noting that his father was rushing back from Malaysia.
Unit occupants conveyed to hospital for assessment: SCDF
Several workers were seen carrying out repair works, while two female tenants also cleaned up the flat.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said on Facebook that the fire in the seventh-floor flat was extinguished with a water jet. It also posted images that showed a bedroom gutted by the fire, with mattress springs on the floor.
Three occupants of the unit had evacuated before SCDF's arrival. They were conveyed to Singapore General Hospital (SGH) and assessed for smoke inhalation, with one sustaining minor burn injuries.
A resident from a neighbouring unit was also assessed for smoke inhalation as a precautionary measure.
Preliminary investigations indicate that the blaze likely originated from an electrical source in the bedroom.
About 50 people from the affected block were evacuated by the police and SCDF.