A circuit breaker – as in a literal circuit breaker – caught fire in a Clementi Housing and Development Board (HDB) block yesterday night (19 May).
The fire broke out at Block 441B Clementi Avenue 3, involving a circuit breaker along the corridor on the ninth floor of the building, as reported by Channel News Asia.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it was alerted to the fire at 9.35pm, adding that firefighters were dispatched to extinguish the flames with two compressed air foam backpacks and an extinguisher.
40 people were forced to evacuate the scene. One person was taken to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital.
Putting aside the association of the term “circuit breaker” with the COVID-19 measures administered by the Government to curb the spread of the virus, a circuit breaker generally refers to an automated electrical switch that safeguards an electrical circuit from any damage caused by excess current from an overload or short circuit.
