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The New Paper
Thursday, Nov 29, 2012
SINGAPORE - She was studying in her bedroom when she was startled by her brother-in-law's shouts for her to call the ambulance.
A woman from the opposite block had jumped from her kitchen window after her kitchen caught fire, he said.
Instinctively, the off-duty nurse rushed downstairs to see if she could help.
The nurse, who wanted to be known only as Ms Teo, said: "As I rushed down, I could only think: 'Is the auntie all right?'"
When she saw the woman's body lying face down on the ground, Ms Teo was in a shock.
But she did what was necessary. Ms Teo, 24, said: "I took her right wrist to measure her pulse. But there wasn't any."
Paramedics later pronounced the woman dead.
The fire broke out in the sixth-storey flat in Block 413, Hougang Avenue 10, at 3.20pm on Monday. The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) sent two fire engines, one Red Rhino, one supporting vehicle and one ambulance to the scene.
A spokesman said the fire involved newspapers and kitchen products like liquid detergent. Firefighters put it out with a water jet.
The gas stove in the kitchen was also turned on, although no cooking utensils were found on the stove, added the spokesman.
Ms Teo told The New Paper on Monday night that her brother-in-law, who was in the kitchen, had seen the woman in the block directly opposite their's climbing out from her kitchen window onto a ledge. He also saw smoke coming from the kitchen.
"My brother-in-law said the woman looked panicky, as if she was hesitant to jump and he shouted at her not to jump," she said.
But seconds later, the woman fell to her death. Neighbours said the woman, believed to be in her 50s, lived alone.
Ms Teo said she was horrified when she reached the woman and saw her on the ground. There was an open fracture on her right leg and it was bleeding.
"The first thing that came to my mind was: 'Oh my god'." Asked why she rushed down to help, Ms Teo said she was just responding to the call of duty.
"I rushed down because it's my job," she explained.
About three hours later, a big group of people, believed to be the woman's relatives, had gathered at the void deck.
They declined comment when approached.
Many curious onlookers also gathered and there was a buzz about what happened earlier in the day. Mr Tan Sum Huan, 70, a retiree who lives in Block 411, said he heard a thud while watching television.
"At first, I thought it was just the sound of cleaners at work, so I continued watching TV," he said.
But when his daughter's maid, who lives in another neighbouring block, called to tell him there was a fire, he rushed downstairs and saw the fire engines.
At first, he thought nothing of it as he only saw some smoke from the sixth storey of Block 413. Mr Tan said: "It was only when I was walking back to my flat that I overheard that someone had jumped."
The cause of fire is under investigation and the case has been handed over to the police, an SCDF spokesman said.
The police have classified the case as unnatural death.
