Bangladeshi cleaners in Ang Mo Kio town helped two elderly residents escape a fire in their second-floor flat, reported the Straits Times, 19 October 2013. The fire apparently made it impossible to leave by the front door, and the four occupants of the rental flat had only the kitchen window to safety. Two leapt out, but two others hesitated.
Bangla cleaners help Mr Goh escape his burning flat. Pic: Lianhe Wanbao
The newspaper reported:
Mr Gan Hwee Sun, 72, and Ms Teo Siew Choo, 50, stood precariously on the window ledge until they were helped to the ground by Bangladeshi cleaners, using a ladder.
Mr Gan and Ms Teo, both musicians in a Chinese funeral procession band, shared the flat with Ms Teo’s friend, Mr Choon Siew Weng, 56, and her younger brother, 37.
Mr Gan emerged unharmed, while the other three were taken to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital. The younger brother, who was not named, was warded in the high dependency unit for fall injuries, a hospital spokesman said. The other two suffered burns.
Mr Gan said he was having a shower he heard screams of “fire”. He quickly put on his boxer shorts and went to the kitchen window but was too scared to climb out. “I didn’t know what was happening. I was holding on to the bamboo pole holder until the cleaners came,” he told the media.
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Today newspaper reported on the same day that the four Bangladeshi workers were given commendation awards.
