He said he agreed with the investigator’s findings that the first reason behind the family’s deaths was the “totally inappropriate” use of a three-prong plug with a 13-amp fuse for an fast water heater.
Two public housing tenants died after their Hong Kong apartment burst into flames
Two public housing tenants died after their Hong Kong apartment burst into flames
The internal cables within the plug fused along with prolonged use, allowing current to flow through the trio. Nakhoda concluded that a two-pole switch with a self-contained circuit must have been used.
Singaporeans could recognize this by listening to the switches often seen outside bathrooms with water heaters installed. When the homeowners turned on the water heater, the red light got here on.
The national housing agency, the Housing and Development Board (HDB), only began installing water heater connections with double-pole switches within the late Nineteen Eighties.
The couple’s apartment was in-built 1971 when there have been no water heaters nearby, however the water heater was installed sometime after 2008.
An investigation by the Energy Market Authority found that, in response to the water heater installation instructions, the couple’s water heater must have been connected to a two-pole switch with an independent circuit.
What happened
On a fateful evening in 2020, Ashikin’s daughter called him and her mother after she was unable to achieve her grandparents.
When Ashikin and the girl went to the apartment, they heard the sound of running water. Ashikin managed to interrupt the padlock securing the fundamental metal gate and rushed inside, finding the couple in the bathroom near the kitchen.
Omar was naked and lying face up, while his wife Asmah lay bent over, along with her head and chest pressed against the wall.
Ashikina’s daughter then saw her father make contact along with her grandfather, calling out “Mak”, which implies mother in Malay. Ashikin then fell on top of his father. In shock, the girl called her mother, who in turn contacted the Singapore Civil Defense Force.
Nakhoda said Asmah would have gone to the toilet to examine on her husband when he collapsed, understandably out of affection for him. He suffered from several chronic diseases and had undergone angioplasty several years earlier to widen blocked or narrowed arteries supplying blood to the center.
There was no indication of an electrical problem because the apartment’s power was not turned off. The coroner found that if she had stepped on the wet bathroom floor barefoot, she would have been vulnerable to receiving an electrical shock.
The coroner added that when Ashikin walked up there, he wouldn’t have thought in any respect about how his parents had fainted, and he wouldn’t have noticed the big burns on their skin either.
Lessons to be learned
The coroner said homeowners shouldn’t use such a three-prong plug or a 13-amp fuse on bathroom appliances akin to fast water heaters. Instead, they need to check the connection points of their bathroom for water heaters.
If no such points exist, homeowners should engage a licensed electrician to put in a stand-alone water heater circuit.
Homeowners must also engage a certified technician to attach the heater to the connection point, Nakhoda said.
In Singapore, 40 percent of water is supplied from recycled sewage
In Singapore, 40 percent of water is supplied from recycled sewage
Homeowners must also make sure that their home appliances are approved to be used in Singapore and have the crucial safety signs. Devices with high power requirements needs to be installed in accordance with the manufacturer’s guidelines.
Nakhoda noted that within the case of the couple’s apartment, the water heater was powered by a circuit that was not protected by a residual current circuit breaker (RCCB). If this were the case, the circuit breaker would trip and cut off all electricity to the apartment.
This was not required when the apartment was built.
During the modernization of the apartment within the early 2000s, a residual current device was installed, but it surely only protected the circuits within the utility room and didn’t interrupt the availability of electricity to the water heater.
Can nuclear power be a net-zero game changer?
Can nuclear power be a net-zero game changer?
The coroner stated that every one electrical wiring in the home must have been protected by a residual current device, but made no specific comment on the dearth of protection on this case.
After the March hearing, the HDB said all recent homes built after 1985 have to be equipped with a residual current device.
He added that Singapore landlords must also repeatedly test this breaker to make sure it’s in good condition. This will be done by pressing the test button every month.
Homeowners can seek advice from any HDB branch and consider hiring an electrical contractor listed on the HDB Infoweb website, the statutory board said.
Nakhoda concluded his arrangements by expressing condolences to the family for his or her loss.
Relatives of the family – including the couple’s daughter and Ashikin’s wife – declined to comment when approached by reporters on Friday.
