SINGAPORE: A woman was washing her clothes and cooking at home when her washing machine, which she had used for almost six years, started releasing smoke and eventually caught fire. This incident happened in a four-room unit on the 5th floor of an HDB block located on Tampines Street 23.
A 23-year-old woman reported to Shin Min Daily News that there was thick black smoke coming from the windows of the said location, and many residents had gathered downstairs to know what was happening. Furthermore, about four fire trucks and several police cars arrived at the scene for rescue.
Case details
When a reporter visited the unit, the homeowner said that after doing her laundry, she was about to cook curry in her kitchen when she suddenly saw smoke coming from her washing machine.
She immediately used a bamboo pole to turn off the socket switch connected to the washing machine’s power cord, then unplugged the machine. However, she still saw flames shooting out of the machine, so she ran out of the kitchen to protect herself.
After hearing about the fire, some neighbours wanted to help, but the power outage caused darkness inside the house, and the unit was filled with acrid smoke, making it difficult for the people to enter. She also said that after evacuating her place, she heard two explosions coming from inside the house.
Case investigations stated that the kitchen ceiling of the unit was blackened by smoke, and shards of glass from the shattered washing machine were scattered on the floor.
Moreover, smoke marks were visible on some parts of the living room ceiling, and water stayed inside the unit even after the fire was put out.
The homeowner said that the electrician had reconnected the power to her unit as well, and she will renovate her kitchen to avoid further trouble in the future. She is thankful that no one was injured in the accident
The Singapore Civil Defence Force confirmed the case and extinguished the fire with water hoses. More so, the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Other related news
In similar news regarding fire inside an HDB unit, there was a report where a food delivery driver borrowed a personal mobility aid (PMA) that accidentally caught fire during its first charging session. The man, fortunately, woke up in time to notice the blaze, prompting him and his wife to leave in panic.
According to the man, he woke up just to use the restroom when he noticed that the living room was unusually stuffy and hot. When he checked what was happening, he found that the PMA was on fire.
Read more about the news article here.
