Channel NewsAsia - Friday,
January 11
SCDF concerned
about increase in number of rubbish chute
fires
SINGAPORE: Fires in HDB rubbish chutes are the biggest concern of
the Civil Defence as they accounted for the largest percentage of
residential fires last year.
A large fraction of the 1,199 rubbish chute fires an increase of
9.1 percent from the year before occurred during festive
periods.
During the Lunar New Year in 2006, 232 rubbish chute fires were
recorded. For Deepavali and Hari Raya Puasa combined, there were a
total of 124 cases.
Last year, 192 cases were recorded during the Lunar New Year and
117 cases were filed during Deepavali and Hari Raya Puasa.
With the Lunar New Year approaching, the authorities are urging the
public to be more vigilant.
Colonel Eric Yap, Director of Operations, Singapore Civil Defence
Force, said: "A lot of education has to go into this process. We
want to appeal to the public to practise responsibility when
discarding lighted materials."
Another concern is fires from unattended cooking, which could
spread to other parts of the kitchen.
The Civil Defence observed that fires from unattended cooking
peaked between 10am and noon, when lunch is being prepared. Such
fires account for onefifth of all fires.
In all, there were 546 cases of fires from unattended cooking last
year an increase of about 7.3 percent from the previous
year.
Fires involving discarded items showed a slight drop, but it is
still a cause for concern.
One such fire at a block at Dover Road last month saw the West
Coast Town Council putting up advisories on void deck notice boards
to highlight the fire hazard to residents. CNA/so
