Expired Fire Extinguisher Burst & Smashed Through a Window to Another Building at Beach Road

By
Shawn Ambrose
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Witness 1: Look at that!

Witness 2: What? 

Witness 1: In the sky!

Witness 2: Woah, it looks like a… bird? A plane perhaps? Or is it superm-

Witness 1: It’s a fire extinguisher lah

We’ve seen some strange things flying through the air lately, like that chicken in Pasir Ris, but this one definitely takes the cake.

Expired Fire Extinguisher Burst & Smashed Through a Window to Another Building at Beach Road

Passersby near Beach Road yesterday morning must have had the shock of their lives when they saw a fire extinguisher shooting out of a window of the 23rd storey of a skyscraper.

The fire extinguisher then plummeted at a high speed and rebounded off the ground before smashing through the glass panels of a the opposite building, the Gateway East, which was 50m away.

Fortunately, no one was injured in the freak accident. It turns out that the extinguisher had expired and burst before it smashed through the window.

Speaking to The Straits Times, a spokesman for Singapore Land Group, which manages The Gateway, said said the incident occurred at 10.30 am in a vacant unit. A contractor was carrying out reinstatement works at the time, but no one was hurt.

He said the fire extinguisher belonged to a tenant. Further investigations into the cause of the accident are still ongoing, he added.

Similar Accident in US Led to Death

A similar incident occurred last year in the US, when a fire extinguisher exploded on the fourth floor of a building in Manhattan, New York.

Construction workers were working on the site when the fire extinguisher exploded, and one ended up dying from the freak accident. Another was taken to hospital in serious condition.

While it is a rare occurrence, fire extinguishers can malfunction if not serviced regularly.

SCDF: Fire Extinguishers Should Be Inspected Monthly

On its website, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said that the owner or occupant of a building should conduct inspections of fire extinguishers on at least a monthly basis.

This to ensure that:

  • the extinguisher is not obstructed or hidden
  • the operating instructions on the extinguisher label are legible and facing outward
  • the extinguisher is full by weighing or hefting it
  • there is no obvious physical damage, corrosion, leakage, or clogged nozzle
  • the pressure gauge reading or indicator is in the operative range

Owners or occupants are also responsible for the maintenance of fire extinguishers, to make sure that the fire extinguishers are in good working order.

And if a fire extinguisher needs to be serviced or maintained, it can only be carried out by qualified and trained professionals in proper workshops of a certified servicing company, SCDF said.

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Shawn Ambrose
Email: [email protected]