Two people died in hospital after a fire broke out at a fourth-floor flat at Block 106, Jalan Bukit Merah, on 13 August 2025. The Singapore Civil Defence Force responded at around 4pm.
The victims were a 34-year-old man and a 32-year-old woman. Firefighters found them unconscious in the kitchen. Both were rushed to Singapore General Hospital where they died from their injuries.
Fire Engulfs Living Room and Bedroom
SCDF personnel arrived to find the living room and bedroom on fire. Firefighters used water jets to put out the flames.
Thick smoke poured from the windows of the burning unit. SCDF crews raised ladders to reach the flat while police secured the area below.
Firefighters discovered the two unconscious victims in the kitchen during operations. They immediately carried both people out and sent them to hospital.
A friend of the deceased man saw the couple at a window calling for help. “She was shouting, ‘Brother, help me!’ in Malay and he was hugging her from behind. I recognised him from the tattoos on his arm,” said the 41-year-old witness.
The friend watched the woman try to save her cat by passing it to firefighters through the window. When paramedics took the victims out on stretchers, their clothes and bodies showed burn marks.
A lifting supervisor called Wan spotted smoke from the unit while sitting at the block’s pavilion. The 39-year-old heard a loud explosion seconds later and ran upstairs.
He tried to crawl through thick smoke to reach the occupants. Nobody responded when he asked them to throw out their keys.
60 People Evacuated
About 60 residents were evacuated from the block as a safety measure. Two other people from nearby units went to Singapore General Hospital – one for smoke inhalation, another felt unwell.
A neighbour identified as Ms Zelah said the couple were friends of the flat owner. They had moved in just a month ago. The 36-year-old resident said they owned an e-bike. Someone had delivered a charger for the device days earlier.
Police found no signs of foul play in preliminary investigations. The fire’s cause is still under investigation.
Radin Mas SMC MP Melvin Yong arrived at 9:40pm and spoke with residents. He promised to contact the victims’ families to offer support.
Yong worked with the Housing Board to arrange temporary homes for residents who couldn’t return due to ongoing damping works. About 20 residents initially needed housing help, though some later found places with family and friends.
This incident brings 2025’s fire-related deaths to eight. There were five in 2024 and three in 2023, according to SCDF statistics.
The most recent fire deaths happened in July. A 56-year-old man and 61-year-old woman died in a second-floor unit at Block 173 Toa Payoh Lorong 1.
