50 people evacuated after fire in bedroom of HDB flat in Woodlands

SINGAPORE – Around 50 people were evacuated from a HDB block in Woodlands on Oct 11 after a blaze broke out in a sixth-floor unit there.

In a media reply, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it was alerted to the fire at Block 514 Woodlands Drive 14 at around 9.40pm.

The fire involved the contents in the sixth-floor unit’s bedroom, and was extinguished by SCDF personnel using a Compressed Air Foam trolley.

The police and SCDF evacuated about 50 people from the affected block.

No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire is under investigation, said SCDF.

In a Facebook post on Oct 12, Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC MP Hany Soh said it was a worrying night for the block’s residents due to the fire.

“Thankfully, one of our grassroots leaders spotted it and quickly alerted SCDF, allowing everyone to evacuate safely,” she said.

She thanked the SCDF, the police, Marsiling-Yew Tee Town Council, the Housing Board and grassroots leaders for their swift action and for working closely with her to provide support on the ground.

“My team and I will continue to assist the affected residents. We wish them well,” she added.

In its annual statistics report on Feb 11, SCDF said the total number of fires increased by 3% – from 1,990 in 2024 to 2,050 in 2025. Of these, 1,051 involved fires at residential buildings.

Unattended cooking and electrical fires – including faults in electrical wiring or overloaded sockets – remained the top two causes of home fires.