Fire damages multiple terraced houses in Joo Chiat; one hospitalised

 SINGAPORE: A fire broke out at a row of single-storey terraced houses in Joo Chiat in the early hours of 17 December 2025, damaging multiple units and prompting the evacuation of residents from neighbouring homes.

One person was taken to Singapore General Hospital after inhaling smoke from the fire, according to the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).

In a Facebook post on 17 December 2025, SCDF said it was alerted to the incident at about 4am.

The fire involved three terraced units along Chiku Road and was spreading to adjacent houses when emergency responders arrived.

Police officers and SCDF personnel evacuated about 20 people from the affected units and nearby homes as a precautionary measure.

Residents were moved away from the immediate area to ensure their safety during firefighting operations.

Firefighters worked to contain the blaze by setting up water jets around the affected properties.

At the height of the operation, a total of seven water jets were deployed to surround and prevent further spread of the fire, SCDF said.

A combined platform ladder was also deployed for aerial firefighting.

The equipment was used both to tackle the flames from above and to limit the risk of the fire spreading to other parts of the row of houses.

The fire was brought under control and fully extinguished at about 6.45am, nearly three hours after SCDF was alerted.

By that time, six adjacent terraced units had sustained varying degrees of burn damage.

SCDF said the fire affected not only the three units where it originated, but also caused damage to neighbouring houses due to heat and flame spread.

Following the extinguishing of the fire, firefighters began damping down operations as a precautionary measure to ensure the fire did not rekindle.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.