Background information of the 1961 Bukit Ho Swee Fire (Singapore)

Bukit Ho Swee as of 2012
(Courtesy of remembersingapore.wordpress.com)

Before 1961, Bukit Ho Swee used to be a squatter settlement in the Singapore City. Unauthorised Houses were made with wood frame huts with thatched roofs. Inhabitants of Bukit Ho Swee were mainly Chinese who lived in Kampong houses.[1]

Bukit Ho Swee Squatter Settlement before 1961
(Courtesy of mimiworld-catcat17.blogspot.com)

In late 1950s, the Peoples' Action Party came into power and with the British colonial regime advocated massive development plans for Singapore.[2] Housing was of utmost importance in the governments' town planning. At that time, there was a shortage of public housing. Overcrowding and squatter colonies were prevalent. Squatter housing was deemed as cramp, unhygienic. Water and electricity was also highly inaccessible by many communities. Also, squatter houses which were made of wood which were highly flammable. The government thus initiated many relocation plans to develop public flat housing for its people which they labeled as “luxurious” because they were spacious and equipped with basic electricity and water amenities.[3] However, their re-housing efforts were often resisted especially by the Chinese as many were reluctant to move away from their jobs and communities which they have already established relationships with.[1]

On 25 May 1961, the largest fire incident in Singapore broke out in Bukit Ho Swee, destroying 2200 wooden houses and displacing 16000 people.[1]

1961 Bukit Ho Swee fire
(Courtesy of blogtoexpress.blogspot.com)

Inhabitants of Bukit Ho Swee were evacuated and housed quickly in temporary apartments just off the borders of Bukit Ho Swee.[4] It was recorded that the fire caused one death and 67 injured. The cause of the fire has not been established since. The media then portrayed kampong Bukit Ho Swee to be a fire prone area which unfortunate incidents were waiting to happen. It also portrayed the fire to be a 'blessing in disguise' as the fire could clear the area for housing development to take place. However, many inhibitants of the Bukit Ho Swee area beg to differ in opinion. Rumours have it that the government gave incentive to people to start the fire. One inhibitant of Bukit Ho Swee claimed to have seen a man throwing a stick of fire to spark the tragedy.

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[1] Loh, Kah Seng. “The 1961 Kampong Bukit Ho Swee fire and the Making of Modern Singapore”. Murdoch University, 2008. Retrieved 30 July 2013. [2] Chew, Melanie. “Leaders of Singapore”. Singapore:Resource Press. 1996. http://singaporegovt.blogspot.sg/2006/01/part-1-history-and-founding-of-pap-no.html Retrieved 30 July 2013. [3] Chew, Valerie. “Public Housing in Singapore”. Singapore Infopedia. 2009. http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_1585_2009-10-26.html, retrieved 30 July 2013. [4] Singapore Broadcasting Corporation. Episode 12: “Bukit Ho Swee Fire”. 1988. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smMggwFO2KU, retrieved 30 July 1988.