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Man rescued from window ledge after fire breaks out at Bedok Reservoir Rd flat

A man was spotted standing on a fourth-floor window ledge at Block 138 Bedok Reservoir Road on Monday (20 February) to escape the smoke from the unit. (PHOTO: Amrit Pal)
A man was spotted standing on a fourth-floor window ledge at Block 138 Bedok Reservoir Road on Monday (20 February) to escape the smoke from the unit. (PHOTO: Amrit Pal)

A fire broke out on Monday (20 February) afternoon at a fourth-floor flat at Block 138 Bedok Reservoir Road.

At the scene, Yahoo Singapore spotted a man standing on the ledge outside the window of the unit as Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officers worked to rescue him.

In a video of the incident, a female witness is heard shouting at the man in Malay, saying “Pakcik tahan, pakcik (Uncle, hang on)!”

The man was eventually helped down from the ledge by SCDF officers, who used a tall ladder.

Aljunied GRC MP Pritam Singh spotted speaking with residents at the scene of a fire at Block 138 Bedok Reservoir Road on 20 February 2017. (PHOTO: Amrit Pal)
Aljunied GRC MP Pritam Singh spotted speaking with residents at the scene of a fire at Block 138 Bedok Reservoir Road on 20 February 2017. (PHOTO: Amrit Pal)

Aljunied GRC MP Pritam Singh was seen speaking to residents near the block in question. In a Facebook post, he said he received word of the incident just after attending Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat’s Budget speech in Parliament and rushed to the scene.

“Rushed to Eunos and relieved to know that the man on the ledge was rescued by the (SCDF). He is out of danger and has been sent to hospital. The cause of the fire is being determined,” he said in his post.

One of the block’s residents, 24-year-old Ali Najib, told Yahoo Singapore, “I was at my house and then heard the explosion so I came to see (what happened). I just wanted to see whether there are people inside, then I saw the smoke.”

Sales coordinator Deric Tan, 27, who lives with his family on the same floor as the affected unit, was at home with his family when the fire broke out, and went to check on his neighbours.

“I was in (my) room so I couldn’t hear the explosion… My (family members) told me about it, and I told them to go downstairs. I checked with all the neighbours too, and just to be safe, I asked them all to come downstairs,” said Tan.