Resident of burning flat refuses to leave, tells neighbour 'leave me alone'
A flat at 211 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3 caught fire after 7pm on Jan 17.
Believed to have been caused by an oil lamp, the flat on the fifth storey was filled with thick smoke as the fire raged on.
However, its female resident refused to leave, standing by doorstep. When told by a neighbour to evacuate, she shouted back: "Leave me alone!"
The Singapore Civil Defence Force said one person was taken to hospital for smoke inhalation.
Ms Yu, the 78-year-old neighbour living in the unit directly below the burnt flat, told Shin Min Daily News: "I knocked on my neighbours' doors and told them there was a fire.
"I went upstairs to check and found the female resident standing at the door. But no matter how I shouted, she refused to leave.
"She stood outside the door and refused to leave, and even shouted at me: 'Leave me alone!'"
The bedroom of the burnt flat was charred, with glass fragments scattered all over the floor. The strong smell of smoke lingered.
A neighbour living on the fifth storey said he heard an explosive sound.
"I quickly took my father downstairs and we were not allowed to return home until about half-an-hour later."
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