Man assisting in police probe after Toa Payoh HDB flat fire

SINGAPORE – A 61-year-old man is assisting in police investigations after a fire broke out in a unit of an HDB flat in Toa Payoh on the morning of Oct 25.

The man was taken conscious to Singapore General Hospital, and about 10 other residents of the block were evacuated as a safety precaution, said the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) in response to queries on Oct 26.

SCDF said it was alerted to the fire at Block 170 Lorong 1 Toa Payoh at around 9.20am on Oct 25.

Its officers conducted forced entry into the second-floor unit and extinguished the fire, which involved items in a bedroom, using a fire extinguisher.

Aside from the 61-year-old man, another person was assessed for minor injuries but declined to be taken to hospital, SCDF said.

The police said the man is assisting with investigations into the offence of causing or contributing to risk of dangerous fire.

The affected block is listed as a one-room public rental flat on HDB’s official website.

A 62-year-old neighbour living on the second floor told Chinese newspaper Shin Min Daily News that she heard the man shouting loudly on Oct 25, and that her granddaughter saw him kicking a hat on the floor and throwing glass bottles.

She told the newspaper that the man has lived in the unit for over 10 years, adding that he is a friendly person who got along well with neighbours.

According to SCDF’s annual statistics report released in February, the total number of fires increased by 3% from 1,990 in 2024 to 2,050 in 2025.

Of these, 1,051 involving residential buildings in 2025.

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

Ann Chen is a journalist at the ST Now team, covering breaking news and international affairs.