It’s not been a great lunar new year so far, has it? Just yesterday (25 Jan), MOH confirmed the fourth case of the scary Wuhan virus.
People are already on edge, so of course the universe decided to make things worse.
Two fires broke out on Saturday morning (Jan 25), the first day of Chinese New Year; one at Bedok and the other at Hougang.
Bedok fire
According to The Straits Times, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) deployed 10 emergency vehicles and 30 firefighters to put out a fire in a two-storey supermarket in Bedok North.
SCDF said it was alerted to the fire at Block 539A Bedok North Street 3 at around 11.35am.
The firefighters had poor visibility because the unit was heavily smoke-logged. They had to wear breathing apparatus sets and use water jets when they entered the unit to locate the fire.
And while there were no injuries, this was no minor fire.
The fire destroyed the contents on the second floor of the supermarket. It was eventually extinguished by SCDF with one water jet, but it’s safe to say to you probably can’t get a bag of Milo from any aisle on this floor anymore.
And believe it or not, another fire broke out around the same time.
Hougang fire
That same morning, SCDF was also alerted to a fire in Hougang at about 11.40am.
That’s just five minutes after the first one. The universe must be having a really bad day.
This time, the fire occurred at a residential flat at Block 672 Hougang Avenue 8.
Thankfully, 25 people had already evacuated by the time the SCDF arrived at the scene.
The fire which happened in the living room was put out with a water jet.
SCDF is investigating the cause of both fires. No injuries from either fire have been reported.
Things can only get better from here, right?
Who knows. One can only hope that the Wuhan virus stops spreading and that those who contracted the disease survive.
As for these fires, well, no one saw two of them coming within such a short period of time.
One thing’s for sure though; it’s been a fiery start to the lunar new year.
