Three taken to hospital after Bukit Merah HDB flat fire; 50 residents evacuated
A pre-dawn fire in a Bukit Merah Housing Board flat on 21 August left three people hospitalised for smoke inhalation and forced the evacuation of about 50 residents. The blaze, which broke out in a 12th-floor unit, was contained to the living room by firefighters.
- Three occupants were rescued and taken to Singapore General Hospital for smoke inhalation.
- About 50 residents were evacuated as a safety precaution.
- The cause of the fire is under investigation amid a rise in fire-related deaths in 2025.
SINGAPORE: Three people were taken to hospital after a fire broke out in a Housing Board flat in Bukit Merah during the early hours of 21 August.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said in a Facebook update that it was alerted to the incident at Block 108 Bukit Purmei Road at about 2.30am.
When firefighters arrived, the living room of a 12th-floor unit was ablaze. SCDF officers forcibly entered the flat and extinguished the fire using a water jet. The flames were confined to the living room.
Three occupants were rescued from two bedrooms during the operation. All were conscious and assessed for smoke inhalation before being taken to Singapore General Hospital.
As a precaution, SCDF and police officers evacuated about 50 residents from the block. No further injuries were reported.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, SCDF confirmed.
Rise in fire-related fatalities in 2025
According to SCDF statistics, eight people have died in fire-related incidents so far in 2025, marking an increase from five deaths in 2024 and three in 2023.
In early August, two people lost their lives after a blaze in a Jalan Bukit Merah flat. A 34-year-old man and a 32-year-old woman were found unconscious in the kitchen of a fourth-floor unit. They were taken to Singapore General Hospital but did not survive.
On 22 July, a separate fire in Toa Payoh claimed two more lives.
A man and a woman were found unconscious in a flat and were pronounced dead at the scene by an SCDF paramedic.
The recent incidents have drawn attention to rising fire-related fatalities in Singapore, with 2025 already recording the highest toll in three years.
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