Everything About the Mount Elizabeth Hospital Fire That Happened Yesterday Morning

News of fire breaking out is not new in Singapore but it seems that July is one of the worst months for SCDF (Singapore Civil Defence Force) personnel.

The month started with a big fire at Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6 on 5 July.

Looks like we’ll be ending July on a bad note as well, with the addition of one more fire case.

Mount Elizabeth Hospital Caught Fire Yesterday (28 July)

From factories to housing estates, and now hospitals, not one building is spared from the flames.

According to Channel News Asia, a fire broke out at Mount Elizabeth Hospital early in the morning yesterday on 28 July. The fire alarm was reportedly set off at one of the hospital’s administrative offices at 6:30 a.m. that day.

With reference to a Facebook post by the SCDF uploaded yesterday evening, they responded to the fire at approximately 6:33 a.m. One water jet was used by firefighters to extinguish the fire which was “confined to an office at Level 1 of Block C”.

60 hospital staff were evacuated from the affected area before the SCDF arrived and fortunately, there were no reported injuries.

According to an employee, smoke could be easily seen and smelled from the kitchen at about 6:00 a.m. Another hospital staff mentioned that it was the first time she has witnessed such an incident in her 18 years of service.

Cause of Fire Still Unknown

While investigations are still underway, the preliminary fire investigation conducted by SCDF revealed that the fire was of an electrical origin.

In an interview with the Chief Executive Officer of Mount Elizabeth Hospital, Dr Noel Yeo announced that the hospital will join forces with the SCDF to “thoroughly investigate and learn from this incident”.

“Our top priorities now are to ensure the safety and well-being of our staff, and to make sure that any inconvenience caused to our patients and visitors are minimised,” he added.

Dr Noel Yeo also apologized to all patients, visitors and residents living in the vicinity for the inconvenience caused.

What to do if there’s a fire

Equipping yourself with relevant fire evacuation knowledge is essential. Here’s what Fire Action would like you to know about protecting yourself and others in the event a fire occurs:

• Set off the fire alarm
• Alert the fire department with the name and address of the building
• Ensure fire escape routes are safe and use your hands to feel doors for heat on the other side
• Head to the nearest fire exit and crawl if there’s smoke in the air
• Exit the building and wait at the designated assembly point

And please, attend the fire drills that your office building has.