Couple Panicked From HDB Fire & Called Landlord Instead of SCDF

This morning, a religious altar in a Telok Blangah HDB flat reportedly caught fire, and the tenants in the flat called the landlord instead of the SCDF instead.

Thankful, no one was hurt. Here’s what happened.

Couple From Myanmar Trapped in Room

The fire occurred this morning (3 July 2023) around 7 am at the third-floor unit of Block 13 along Telok Blangah Crescent.

When reporters from Shin Min Daily News reached the flat, the living room and kitchen of the unit in a state of severe disarray, with several people assisting in the clean-up of the scene.

Trapped inside the unit at the time of the incident were a couple, both tenants from Myanmar.

The husband, a 39-year-old cleaner, stated that he and his wife were asleep when they were awakened by the smell of thick smoke.

“We were roused by the smoke, and as soon as we opened the room door, we discovered the fire was already quite large and we couldn’t rush out, so we quickly closed the door,” he said.

Explosion in Living Room

Wen also revealed that they heard explosions from the living room after closing the door. Overwhelmed with fear, he and his wife quickly opened the window for fresh air and contacted the landlord for help.

“About five minutes later, the SCDF officers broke down the door and came rushing in. They rescued us, and I still haven’t processed what happened,” he said.

The tenant, who has been living in the rented flat for 11 years and works nearby with his landlord, mentioned that the landlord had gone out for breakfast at the time of the incident.

“The landlord has some mobility issues due to a disability and uses a prosthetic. Thankfully, he left early today; otherwise, the consequences are unthinkable,” he added.

His wife, a 39-year-old manicurist, revealed that they were so frightened at the time that they didn’t know how to call the SCDF for help and could only call their landlord. “After we were rescued, we calmed down downstairs for an hour before remembering to call the other tenants to inform them about the incident,” she said.