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the straits times
River Valley fire: ‘Boy looked lifeless, mouth was burnt,’ says doctor who helped injured children
SINGAPORE – Dr Laura Biffin was working in her clinic in River Valley Road on April 8 when she heard a commotion coming from Tomato Cooking School, located down the road.
The family physician ran outside and saw that a shophouse, which the cooking school was located in, was on fire.
Dr Biffin, 38, saw children being evacuated to another shophouse and went to help examine those hurt in the blaze.
Dr Biffin was among 18 members of the public who received the Singapore Civil Defence Force’s (SCDF) Community Lifesaver award on April 15 for their part in rescuing and helping the victims of the fire.
channel news asia
River Valley fire: SCDF recognises 18 members of the public who responded to blaze
SINGAPORE: Dr Laura Biffin had just returned from a morning coffee run and was in her office on River Valley Road excitedly preparing for the opening of her new clinic when she heard a loud commotion out in the streets.
She ran out immediately to the sight of people screaming as children sat on a third-storey ledge with the “thickest black smoke” billowing out of windows behind them after a fire broke out at a shophouse at River Valley Road.
The sight of a boy who appeared “lifeless” being brought down by a firefighter shocked Dr Biffin, and she immediately began to assess if she needed to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation on him when he was brought to a shophouse a couple of doors down.
