Geylang resident upset by couple burning offerings at drain instead of bins nearby, says smoke woke him up

It was the middle of the night.

A Geylang resident called 995 after being awakened by smoke from a couple burning offerings near his block at 2.30am on Feb 18.

Stomp contributor JY shared a video of the couple standing over the growing fire as it produced more and more smoke.

He described them as "pyromaniacs disregarding public safety".

"Instead of using the available burning bins 20m away, the self-centred imbeciles chose to burn offerings in an open drain near the kids' playground between two HDB blocks," said the Stomp contributor, who pointed out the spray bottle the man was holding.

"He even used an accelerant to ensure maximum fire danger was imposed. Smoke engulfed the entire estate choking people in their sleep."

The Stomp contributor recounted: "I called 995 at 2.31am after waking up from choking smoke filling up my place."

As the fire raged on for half an hour, he picked up the phone once more.

"I called 995 again at 2.54am and then the fire department said they would send people down," said the Stomp contributor.

"Imagine how much stuff the couple was burning. It makes zero sense the fire was allowed to continue unabated for 30 minutes and the couple were not directed to use the burning bins steps away from the drain."

In response to a Stomp query, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it was alerted at about 2:55am to the fire near Block 124 Geylang East Avenue 1, which involved the "contents of lighted materials on the ground floor".

"Members of the public extinguished the fire using two buckets of water prior to SCDF's arrival." said SCDF, adding that there were no reported injuries.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

The Stomp contributor said: "I guess it's an accepted practice to not use designated bins and people are allowed to burn stuff in the open without regard for safety and environment.

"I'm shocked by the state of Singapore's civic-mindedness and what our civil service represents these days."

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This article was first published in Stomp. Permission required for reproduction.