Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on the Percentage of Fire Incidents in HDB Flats That Spread to or Consequently Affected Neighbouring Units

Question:

Miss Rachel Ong: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs what is the percentage of fire incidents in HDB flats that spread to or whose after-effects affect neighbouring units.

Answer:

Mr K Shanmugam, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law

1.   From January 2020 till September 2022, there were 2,441 fire incidents in HDB flats. In three of them, there was vertical fire spread which affected the units up to two floors directly above the initial affected unit. The prevailing Fire Code 2018 requires new residential buildings exceeding 24 metres in height to be provided with an apron wall or horizontal ledge on the building façade to minimise risk of vertical fire spread.

2.   Till date, there have been no cases of lateral fire spread across HDB units, based on SCDF's records. This is because residential units are designed as fire compartments to prevent the spread of fire beyond the unit.

3.   As for smoke inhalation injuries, this occurred in less than 5% of the HDB fire incidents since January 2020. This includes residents from both the initial affected unit and neighbouring units.