SCDF said on July 30 that because the dry rising main was not working, water could not be charged up to the affected floors.     SINGAPORE - The dry rising main at Block 229 Toa Payoh Lorong 8 was not in proper working condition when the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) fought the blaze there on July 29. SCDF said on July 30 that because the dry rising main was not working, water could not be charged up to the affected floors. Firefighters had to set up hoses directly from the fire engine below up to the 10th and 11th floors via the staircase.   The fire had engulfed a flat on the 10th floor and spread to a unit on the 11th. A total of seven people, including a firefighter and a child, were taken to hospital.   An SCDF spokesman said: “This is more onerous, but it is a contingency that SCDF firefighters regularly train for during their routine drills.” The dry rising main is a vertical red pipe installed in a building, and is typically dry when not in use. During a fire, it is charged with water from a fire engine, allowing water to reach the upper floors of a building. SCDF said it is working with the town council to investigate the incident. It is also working to rectify the dry rising main fault to ensure it is in proper working condition. The spokesman said: “SCDF takes a serious view of fire safety and will take firm action against any non-compliance with fire safety requirements, including non-maintenance of fire safety provisions such as the dry rising main.”   A similar incident happened in August 2020, when the wet riser was not working when firefighters tried to use it to fight the flames on the 20th floor at Block 138C Lorong 1A Toa Payoh.   On July 30, residents of Block 229 told The Straits Times they had noticed firefighters having trouble getting water from the dry riser. Residents also raised concerns about fire escape routes, as the 25-storey building was a point block, with only one exit staircase down. They said initial instructions on what to do after the fire broke out were confusing. Some said that when they called 995, they were told to quickly take the stairs down to the ground floor. But several of those living in the units above the 10th floor were unable to do so, as the sole staircase had become smoke-logged. They were then told to head upstairs. Some residents faced difficulty, as the area was filled with thick black smoke. A retiree living on the ninth floor, who wanted to be known only as Mrs Tan, 72, said: “It was an inferno. We knocked on as many doors as we could. But we couldn’t get to some of them because the staircase was filled with smoke.”   ST has contacted the Bishan-Toa Payoh Town Council for comment. Mrs Tan said the woman living in the 10th floor unit that was on fire had stumbled down the stairs and was crying when she approached her and her husband. She said the woman appeared to be hyperventilating and asked for help to call 995. Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC MP Saktiandi Supaat posted on Facebook on July 30 that temporary shelter had been arranged for affected households. Essential items such as mattresses, daily necessities and mineral water have also been provided through community partners. The power supply for most of the units in the block had been restored by July 30. But the restoration of electricity is expected to take longer for units on the 10th floor. A resident there, Mr Seah Seng Chye, 50, a teacher, said the authorities told him the earliest it could be restored was Aug 4. He said he would be staying with his in-laws in the meantime, and hoped the authorities could look into better fire escape routes for the block. A resident on the 15th floor, who wanted to be known only as Mr Ong, 46, an architect, agreed. He said: “There are quite a few elderly and young families staying here. Hopefully the authorities can look into what more can be done to make it safer.”

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