SINGAPORE: A fire broke out on the second-floor flat in Block 147, Serangoon North Ave 1 on Thursday (Jan 18) evening, causing a power outage and forcing nearly 70 residents to evacuate their homes.

One woman in her 80s and another in her 30s, both from the neighbouring units, were taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital after complaining of breathlessness, said the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).



The SCDF said they were alerted to the incident at about 7.15pm.

The fire originated from one of the bedrooms, they added.

"Sixteen residents from the second to fifth stories were evacuated by SCDF and Singapore Police Force (SPF) officers," said SCDF. These residents lived close to or directly above the unit that had caught fire.

Another 50 residents living in the block self-evacuated, SCDF added.



Photos and videos posted on social media showed the unit engulfed in flames, with firefighters trying to extinguish the blaze.

Mr Alvin Tan, who lives on the fourth floor of the affected building, told Channel NewsAsia that he heard people shouting "fire, fire" at about 7.10pm.

When the 45-year-old stepped out of his house, he saw "thick, black smoke"and immediately gathered his family and ran out of the building.

Mr Ken Chan, a resident living in the opposite block, told Channel NewsAsia he realised there was a fire when smoke started to rise from the building.

The fire that broke out at a flat at Block 147, Serangoon North Avenue 1 sent plumes of black smoke into the sky on Thursday (Jan 18). (Photo: Facebook/Ken Chan)

The 26-year-old undergraduate said he saw the fire in the unit's kitchen and bathroom window.

Mr Chan also said that he heard several "pop sounds".

According to eyewitnesses, the fire caused a power outage in the building, with units up to the 12th floor seen in total darkness.

The fire was extinguished by SCDF using compressed air foam and a water jet, SCDF said.

The cause of the fire is being investigated, it added.