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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 one-fifth 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 notice boards to highlight the fire hazard to residents.
- CNA/so
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