Earlier, it was reported that the Chinese media sent 2 reporters to 5 different HDB flat types to compare their corridor width. They took measurements and walked past each other to find out the ease of doing so.

The reporters found that the corridors at 2 privately built DBSS developments are the narrowest. The width of the common corridors at Pasir Ris One and The Peak @ Toa Payoh are 1.2 m and 1.25 m respectively.

In the case of Pasir Ris One, corridors were found to be less than 1.2 m i.e. 1.17 m at some places, flouting the construction rules laid down for corridor designs. Both reporters had to slant sideways when they walked past each other at such corridors in order to avoid body contact.

BCA says no problem with 1.17 m wide corridors

According to the Fire Safety Code administered by SCDF, the width of common corridors has to be at least 1.2 m. The 1.17 m corridors in some places of Pasir Ris One is a clear violation of the Fire Safety Code.

Under the Building and Construction Authority’s (BCA) Code on Accessibility, common corridors must have a minimum width of 1.2 m to allow unimpeded access for persons on a wheelchair.

BCA said that before issuing the Temporary Occupancy Permit (TOP) for Pasir Ris One, inspections had been conducted and the corridors were found to be generally 1.2 m wide.

With regard to the 1.17 m width at some places of Pasir Ris One’s corridors, BCA felt that the 3 cm difference may be due to “error during construction phase”. BCA said that this difference does not impact the accessibility of persons on wheelchairs.

BCA had previously stipulated the 1.2 m minimum width requirement for corridors in its 2013 Code on Accessibility. But from April 2014, it updated its code for some reasons, stipulating that corridors now need to have a minimum width of 1.5 m.

Still, it seems that Pasir Ris One’s violation of the Code on Accessibility does not draw any punitive action from BCA. It seems to view the violation as a very minor thing, allowing the developer to just “move on”.

National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan who oversees BCA continues to remain silent over the issue on why BCA is condoning the developer to violate BCA’s Code on Accessibility (‘Khaw remains silent on 1.17 m corridor issue‘). If even Mr Khaw also condones this, what is the point of having a code in the first place?

SCDF also says corridor width meets requirements of Fire Code

Notwithstanding the BCA’s stance, fire safety is definitely a major concern for residential developments. Based on the Fire Incident Statistics provided by the SCDF, in 2014 there were 2,888 cases of fire in residential premises. On average, there are 7.9 cases of residential fires occurring in Singapore everyday.

Many netizens are asking if fires break out at Pasir Ris One and lives are lost due to congestion at the sub-standard corridors, who is going to bear the responsibility?

Today (23 Jul), a Colonel Razak Raheem, Director of Public Affairs Department in SCDF finally replied in ST Forum saying that they have already inspected Pasir Ris One and found the corridors to be have met the “requirements of the Fire Code”.

“The SCDF has conducted checks at Pasir Ris One and confirmed that the width of the common corridors at Pasir Ris One meets the requirements of the Fire Code,” Colonel Razak said.

He revealed that BCA together with other authorities, including the SCDF, approved the building plans for Pasir Ris One in 2012.

“These plans fulfilled the then prevailing design requirements, such as BCA’s Code on accessibility for the Built Environment, which facilitates access for wheelchair users, and the SCDF Fire Code, which provides for the safe conduct of emergency evacuation,” he added.

He further stated that the fire-rated doors installed at Pasir Ris One “do not impede emergency evacuation along the corridors as they open inward”.

“In addition, most metal gates, which open outwards, do not pose any obstruction to evacuation,” he said.

However, Colonel Razak also said that SCDF has found some metal gates that could potentially cause obstruction if the gates of opposite-facing units are opened at the same time.

“The SCDF has therefore instructed the architect of Pasir Ris One to take immediate action to rectify these metal gates,” he explained.

“The SCDF also advises residents to keep the corridors free of clutter, in order not to hinder firefighting efforts, evacuation and conveyance of patients during a medical emergency. The SCDF is committed to ensuring that all developments comply with the requirements of the Fire Code.”

1.17m or not 1.17m?

It’s strange that SCDF said the width of the corridors at Pasir Ris One meets the requirements of the Fire Code (i.e, minimum width of 1.2m for all corridors) when reporters from Chinese media had found some places to be short of 3cm at 1.17m.

Perhaps the reporters were using measuring tapes not approved by SCDF?

What do you think?

The developers of Pasir Ris One, a costly public housing Design Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) project that made news after residents complained about narrow corridors, says that they would address the faults and defects highlighted by the residents and make improvements to several areas.

One of the problems cited by residents was the splashing of rain water on the main doors and into the houses of some units. The developers told reporters that they will install a series of aluminium fins on the exterior walls on every level near the affected corridors. A temporary canvas blockage is being used at one of the blocks to keep out the rain while the aluminium fins are being manufactured.

The changes were announced to Pasir Ris One residents today in an email from Mr Dennis Lam, manager of project administration for the SingHaiyi Group, one of two joint developers behind the project. The other co-developer is Kay Lim Holdings.

"We have received feedbacks and comments from residents on issues in our development and we have been engaging our consultants to study and review them as our team is committed to have them resolved reasonability to the best of our ability," Mr Lam wrote.

Changes have been made to improve lighting in the corridors, according to the email. And the height of BBQ pits in the project are being lowered from 115cm to 85cm for "ease of use".

An angry resident, who recently bought a 4-room condominium at the much touted Pasir Ris One Design Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) estate, was shocked when she first received the keys to her apartment.

Despite all the media hype surrounding the Pasir Ris One project, she was disappointed to find that the rooms in her 4-room apartment were smaller than "shoeboxes".

One bedroom, for instance, has hardly enough space to fit a single bed, while her own master bedroom has enough space for just one queen sized mattress.

The 36 year-old resident, who only wanted to be known as Mrs Tan, said that she bought the flat this year in March (measuring 86 square metres) and spent close to $40,000 on renovations. However, because of the lack of space, her family of 7 has had to take their meals at separate intervals because their dining room is unable to fit all 7 of them at a go.

Yet this is only the tip of the iceberg. Mrs Tan and other residents have also found the estate to be full of defects, from broken wood work furniture to rain splashing into their apartments.

Since its launch this year, the Pasir Ris One project has been plagued by controversy over shoddy workmanship by the PRC developer, SingHaiyi, which is owned by PRC couple Gordon Tang and Chen Huaidan.

Earlier, it was reported that the Chinese media sent 2 reporters to 5 different HDB flat types to compare their corridor width. They took measurements and walked past each other to find out the ease of doing so.

The reporters found that the corridors at 2 privately built DBSS developments are the narrowest. The width of the common corridors at Pasir Ris One and The Peak @ Toa Payoh are 1.2 m and 1.25 m respectively.

In the case of Pasir Ris One, corridors were found to be less than 1.2 m i.e. 1.17 m at some places, flouting the construction rules laid down for corridor designs. Both reporters had to slant sideways when they walked past each other at such corridors in order to avoid body contact.

BCA says no problem with 1.17 m wide corridors

According to the Fire Safety Code administered by SCDF, the width of common corridors has to be at least 1.2 m. The 1.17 m corridors in some places of Pasir Ris One is a clear violation of the Fire Safety Code.

Under the Building and Construction Authority’s (BCA) Code on Accessibility, common corridors must have a minimum width of 1.2 m to allow unimpeded access for persons on a wheelchair.

BCA said that before issuing the Temporary Occupancy Permit (TOP) for Pasir Ris One, inspections had been conducted and the corridors were found to be generally 1.2 m wide.

With regard to the 1.17 m width at some places of Pasir Ris One’s corridors, BCA felt that the 3 cm difference may be due to “error during construction phase”. BCA said that this difference does not impact the accessibility of persons on wheelchairs.

BCA had previously stipulated the 1.2 m minimum width requirement for corridors in its 2013 Code on Accessibility. But from April 2014, it updated its code for some reasons, stipulating that corridors now need to have a minimum width of 1.5 m.

Still, it seems that Pasir Ris One’s violation of the Code on Accessibility does not draw any punitive action from BCA. It seems to view the violation as a very minor thing, allowing the developer to just “move on”.

National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan who oversees BCA continues to remain silent over the issue on why BCA is condoning the developer to violate BCA’s Code on Accessibility (‘Khaw remains silent on 1.17 m corridor issue‘). If even Mr Khaw also condones this, what is the point of having a code in the first place?

SCDF also says corridor width meets requirements of Fire Code

Notwithstanding the BCA’s stance, fire safety is definitely a major concern for residential developments. Based on the Fire Incident Statistics provided by the SCDF, in 2014 there were 2,888 cases of fire in residential premises. On average, there are 7.9 cases of residential fires occurring in Singapore everyday.

Many netizens are asking if fires break out at Pasir Ris One and lives are lost due to congestion at the sub-standard corridors, who is going to bear the responsibility?

Today (23 Jul), a Colonel Razak Raheem, Director of Public Affairs Department in SCDF finally replied in ST Forum saying that they have already inspected Pasir Ris One and found the corridors to be have met the “requirements of the Fire Code”.

“The SCDF has conducted checks at Pasir Ris One and confirmed that the width of the common corridors at Pasir Ris One meets the requirements of the Fire Code,” Colonel Razak said.

He revealed that BCA together with other authorities, including the SCDF, approved the building plans for Pasir Ris One in 2012.

“These plans fulfilled the then prevailing design requirements, such as BCA’s Code on accessibility for the Built Environment, which facilitates access for wheelchair users, and the SCDF Fire Code, which provides for the safe conduct of emergency evacuation,” he added.

He further stated that the fire-rated doors installed at Pasir Ris One “do not impede emergency evacuation along the corridors as they open inward”.

“In addition, most metal gates, which open outwards, do not pose any obstruction to evacuation,” he said.

However, Colonel Razak also said that SCDF has found some metal gates that could potentially cause obstruction if the gates of opposite-facing units are opened at the same time.

“The SCDF has therefore instructed the architect of Pasir Ris One to take immediate action to rectify these metal gates,” he explained.

“The SCDF also advises residents to keep the corridors free of clutter, in order not to hinder firefighting efforts, evacuation and conveyance of patients during a medical emergency. The SCDF is committed to ensuring that all developments comply with the requirements of the Fire Code.”

1.17m or not 1.17m?

It’s strange that SCDF said the width of the corridors at Pasir Ris One meets the requirements of the Fire Code (i.e, minimum width of 1.2m for all corridors) when reporters from Chinese media had found some places to be short of 3cm at 1.17m.

Perhaps the reporters were using measuring tapes not approved by SCDF?

What do you think?

The developers of Pasir Ris One, a costly public housing Design Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) project that made news after residents complained about narrow corridors, says that they would address the faults and defects highlighted by the residents and make improvements to several areas.

One of the problems cited by residents was the splashing of rain water on the main doors and into the houses of some units. The developers told reporters that they will install a series of aluminium fins on the exterior walls on every level near the affected corridors. A temporary canvas blockage is being used at one of the blocks to keep out the rain while the aluminium fins are being manufactured.

The changes were announced to Pasir Ris One residents today in an email from Mr Dennis Lam, manager of project administration for the SingHaiyi Group, one of two joint developers behind the project. The other co-developer is Kay Lim Holdings.

"We have received feedbacks and comments from residents on issues in our development and we have been engaging our consultants to study and review them as our team is committed to have them resolved reasonability to the best of our ability," Mr Lam wrote.

Changes have been made to improve lighting in the corridors, according to the email. And the height of BBQ pits in the project are being lowered from 115cm to 85cm for "ease of use".

An angry resident, who recently bought a 4-room condominium at the much touted Pasir Ris One Design Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) estate, was shocked when she first received the keys to her apartment.

Despite all the media hype surrounding the Pasir Ris One project, she was disappointed to find that the rooms in her 4-room apartment were smaller than "shoeboxes".

One bedroom, for instance, has hardly enough space to fit a single bed, while her own master bedroom has enough space for just one queen sized mattress.

The 36 year-old resident, who only wanted to be known as Mrs Tan, said that she bought the flat this year in March (measuring 86 square metres) and spent close to $40,000 on renovations. However, because of the lack of space, her family of 7 has had to take their meals at separate intervals because their dining room is unable to fit all 7 of them at a go.

Yet this is only the tip of the iceberg. Mrs Tan and other residents have also found the estate to be full of defects, from broken wood work furniture to rain splashing into their apartments.

Since its launch this year, the Pasir Ris One project has been plagued by controversy over shoddy workmanship by the PRC developer, SingHaiyi, which is owned by PRC couple Gordon Tang and Chen Huaidan.