http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,200540,00.html?
Man saves wife from fire
He covers her with wet towel
By Amanda Yong
May 01, 2009
CHARRED: The fire burned the walls and the gas stove. PICTURE: SHIN MIN DAILY NEWS
HE was washing his hands at the kitchen sink when he heard his wife screaming.
When retiree Pek Kim Hock, 74, turned around, he saw his wife of more than 50 years, Madam Koh Yeock Kee, 71, on fire.
Flames had suddenly lashed out at Madam Koh from the gas cylinder in the kitchen. She was burnt on various parts of her body, including hair, neck and arms. Her clothes were also on fire.
Though horrified, Mr Pek's reaction was swift and decisive.
He said in Mandarin: 'I was standing near her when I saw she was on fire. So I grabbed a large towel lying on the floor, ran it under running water, and wrapped it around her head and upper body.'
As he helped his wife out of the kitchen, he shouted to his daughter-in-law: 'Fire, fire! Get out of the house!'
His daughter-in-law and two grandsons were in a room on the second floor of their HDB flat at Block 253, Bangkit Road, in the Bukit Panjang area, at that time.
Afraid the gas cylinder might explode, all five of them fled the flat. Mr Pek held on to his injured wife, while his daughter-in-law carried her two terrified toddlers.
The incident took place last Friday morning.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it received a call at 9.10am and despatched one fire engine, two fire bikes and an ambulance to the scene.
A spokesman said the incident was a 'flash fire from a liquified petroleum gas (LPG) cylinder'.
Madam Koh, who suffered first-degree burns, was taken to the Singapore General Hospital. Eighteen per cent of her body, including her face, neck, and arms, were burnt, reported Shin Min Daily News.
But she was not warded as she did not want to stay in hospital, her daughter-in-law said when The New Paper visited the family on Monday.
Madam Koh was not home as she was at the hospital getting her wounds dressed.
She also lost clumps of hair, Mr Pek said. She has to remain on medication and go to the hospital every day to get fresh dressing for her wounds.
Mr Peh recalled that Madam Koh had been boiling water that morning and was preparing to steam some fish for lunch.
The couple's two sons also live with them.
Mr Pek said: 'She was standing in front of the gas cooker and was bending down a little to open the door of the cabinet where the LPG cylinder is kept, when the fire suddenly burst out from the cylinder.'
On average, Mr Pek's family uses up one LPG cylinder a month. He said he did not know how long they had been using the cylinder that caught fire.
Parts of the pipe of the LPG cylinder were found to have melted in the fire. Nothing else was damaged.
Man saves wife from fire
He covers her with wet towel
By Amanda Yong
May 01, 2009
CHARRED: The fire burned the walls and the gas stove. PICTURE: SHIN MIN DAILY NEWS
HE was washing his hands at the kitchen sink when he heard his wife screaming.
When retiree Pek Kim Hock, 74, turned around, he saw his wife of more than 50 years, Madam Koh Yeock Kee, 71, on fire.
Flames had suddenly lashed out at Madam Koh from the gas cylinder in the kitchen. She was burnt on various parts of her body, including hair, neck and arms. Her clothes were also on fire.
Though horrified, Mr Pek's reaction was swift and decisive.
He said in Mandarin: 'I was standing near her when I saw she was on fire. So I grabbed a large towel lying on the floor, ran it under running water, and wrapped it around her head and upper body.'
As he helped his wife out of the kitchen, he shouted to his daughter-in-law: 'Fire, fire! Get out of the house!'
His daughter-in-law and two grandsons were in a room on the second floor of their HDB flat at Block 253, Bangkit Road, in the Bukit Panjang area, at that time.
Afraid the gas cylinder might explode, all five of them fled the flat. Mr Pek held on to his injured wife, while his daughter-in-law carried her two terrified toddlers.
The incident took place last Friday morning.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it received a call at 9.10am and despatched one fire engine, two fire bikes and an ambulance to the scene.
A spokesman said the incident was a 'flash fire from a liquified petroleum gas (LPG) cylinder'.
Madam Koh, who suffered first-degree burns, was taken to the Singapore General Hospital. Eighteen per cent of her body, including her face, neck, and arms, were burnt, reported Shin Min Daily News.
But she was not warded as she did not want to stay in hospital, her daughter-in-law said when The New Paper visited the family on Monday.
Madam Koh was not home as she was at the hospital getting her wounds dressed.
She also lost clumps of hair, Mr Pek said. She has to remain on medication and go to the hospital every day to get fresh dressing for her wounds.
Mr Peh recalled that Madam Koh had been boiling water that morning and was preparing to steam some fish for lunch.
The couple's two sons also live with them.
Mr Pek said: 'She was standing in front of the gas cooker and was bending down a little to open the door of the cabinet where the LPG cylinder is kept, when the fire suddenly burst out from the cylinder.'
On average, Mr Pek's family uses up one LPG cylinder a month. He said he did not know how long they had been using the cylinder that caught fire.
Parts of the pipe of the LPG cylinder were found to have melted in the fire. Nothing else was damaged.
