50 Bedok North Road residents evacuated after fire breaks out, Latest Singapore News - The New Paper
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50 Bedok North Road residents evacuated after fire breaks out

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HDB flat full of books and magazines catches fire

A number of residents at Block 180 Bedok North Road caught an unusual smell on Wednesday afternoon and wondered if it could be the haze.

But they quickly realised that a unit on the 18th storey was on fire.

The police and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) were soon evacuating around 50 people from the 16th to 20th storeys.

The SCDF was alerted to the fire at about 1.20pm. The unit owner, Mr Steven Kwok, was not home at the time.

The fire was put out with two water jets and two compressed air foam backpacks. No injuries were reported, and residents told The New Paper they were allowed back into their homes after around two hours.

The SCDF said in a Facebook post that the fire "had engulfed the entire unit due to the vast accumulation of combustible items within it," adding that firefighters' movement within the unit was impeded by heaps of items.

Police are investigating the incident.

Speaking to TNP outside his unit yesterday, Mr Kwok, 65, who has been living there alone for 19 years, said he kept second-hand books and magazines in his flat.

In an earlier interview with Chinese daily Shin Min Daily News, he said there were more than 1,000 books in his flat.

A 62-year-old retiree staying directly above Mr Kwok's unit said he and his wife had noticed something odd in the 18th-storey unit.

The man, who did not want to be named, said: "I see the lights are on in the kitchen 24/7 and there are all kinds of rubbish like paper and cardboard... stacked up to the ceiling."

HDB flat full of books and magazines catches fire
Cleaners clearing the unit after the fire on Wednesday afternoon. TNP PHOTO: KHALID BABA

He added that the clutter would extend outside the house into the common corridor.

Worried, the couple e-mailed the Fengshan Town Council and called HDB.

When TNP contacted the town council, it said the common corridor was cleared as of March 4.

Ms Cheryl Chan, Member of Parliament for the Fengshan Single Member Constituency, talked about the fire in a post on her Facebook page.

She said: "A fire broke out at around 1pm yesterday. Thankfully, no one was injured... I urge residents to be mindful of potential fire hazards... This puts your family and neighbours at risk."

ACCIDENTS FIRE FLOOD