If the common corridor is already smoked, do not walk into it.
A fire in your own unit is a different job, if the way out is still clear.
Fire in your unit, way out still clear
Shout. Get everyone out. Close the door so the fire stays in the unit. Use the stairs, not the lift. Call 995 from a safe place. Do not go back for a phone.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) gives that order in its public advice. Channel NewsAsia quoted the same sequence in 2022: shout, evacuate, close the door, call 995, stairs not lift.
Get out. Stay out. Call 995.
Corridor already smoked, or you cannot get out
Do not walk into the smoke. SCDF’s Civil Defence Emergency Handbook, as reported by Channel NewsAsia, says smoke-inhalation injuries typically outnumber burn injuries. A wet cloth, staying low, and crawling under smoke is for a way out you cannot avoid.
Get to a room with a window that overlooks a road if you can. Shut the door. Seal the gap under the door with fabric. Call 995. Shout from the window. Do not jump.
The Straits Times askST guide (14 August 2025, updated 7 November 2025) lists the same trapped-person steps.
If the corridor is smoked: stay in. Seal the door. Call 995. Do not jump.
Neighbour’s unit on fire
Shout. Call 995.
SCDF’s Civil Defence Emergency Handbook, 9th edition (2024) says people on the fire floor and the two floors immediately above are evacuated. People on other floors are generally safer in their own units with windows and doors closed, unless officers tell them to leave.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has said the same in a written reply. Housing and Development Board (HDB) units are designed as fire compartments. SCDF prioritises the fire floor and the two floors above.
If officers on site tell you to leave, leave.
The extinguisher
An extinguisher is for a small fire in your own home when you have a clear exit behind you. It is not for a smoked corridor.
Earlier warning inside the unit
A Home Fire Alarm Device (HFAD) gives earlier warning inside the unit. SCDF has required them in new homes since 1 June 2018, and encourages existing owners. Start here: Home Fire Alarm Device (HFAD).
Quick answers
The fire is in my unit and I can still see a clear way out. What do I do? Shout, get everyone out, close the door, use the stairs, call 995 from a safe place. Do not go back for a phone.
The corridor is smoked, or I cannot get out. What do I do? Do not walk into the smoke. Get to a room with a window that overlooks a road if you can. Shut the door, seal the gap with fabric, call 995, shout from the window. Do not jump.
A neighbour’s unit is on fire. Do I leave? If you are on the fire floor or the two floors immediately above, SCDF’s advice is that you are evacuated. On other floors, stay in with windows and doors closed unless officers tell you to leave.
Should I take an extinguisher into the corridor? No.