3YO Accidentally Started Fire in an HDB Flat While Playing With a Lighter

A wise man once said, “Don’t leave a kid unattended in your HDB flat. He might injure himself.”

Well, someone did, and the kid didn’t injure himself.

Instead, he set the flat on fire.

3YO Accidentally Started Fire in an HDB Flat While Playing With a Lighter

A three-year-old boy allegedly set a mattress on fire with a lighter, causing a blaze in a Bukit Merah flat. Fortunately, his nine-year-old brother quickly led him to safety, narrowly avoiding a tragedy.

The fire occurred around 11:20 AM on Tuesday (10 September) at a ninth-floor unit Jalan Bukit Merah.

The 71-year-old resident told Shin Min Daily News that he lives in the one-bedroom flat with his Vietnamese wife, 45, and their three children, and they have been living there for six or seven years.

His youngest son, aged three, was likely playing with a lighter in the bedroom, accidentally igniting the mattress and sparking the fire.

“At the time, my nine-year-old son was also home, but he was probably too engrossed in his mobile games to notice his younger brother playing with fire,” he said.

Once the older brother noticed the mattress on fire, he immediately took his younger brother and fled the flat. He then called the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), ensuring both boys were unharmed.

“I got a call around noon and rushed back home. The firefighters were still extinguishing the fire, but by then, everything was destroyed. Thankfully, the kids are safe. As long as no one was hurt, that’s what matters,” he added.

Upon inspection, the bedroom was found completely charred, with all items inside destroyed. The door frame was burnt down to the metal, and the mattress was reduced to its springs. The living room was also blackened, with burnt furniture and appliances, leaving the unit in ruins.

Additionally, the fire affected residents upstairs, with the corridors and outer walls from the 10th to 12th floors covered in soot, causing frustration among the neighbours.

The SCDF confirmed in a Facebook post that the fire started in the bedroom, and firefighters used a water jet to extinguish the flames.

he rest of the flat was damaged by heat and thick smoke.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.