Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Loh Kah Seng begins a new series on the 1961 fire at Bukit Ho Swee – the biggest in Singapore history and the place where he traces his roots. He relates the terror and chaos on that fateful day on 25 May 1961 as the inferno crossed two main roads and rendered 16,000 people homeless in a matter of hours. The fire was the topic of his PhD dissertation. In subsequent episodes, he will talk about what the fire meant to the people and how it changed Singapore forever.

00:00 Introduction

00:51 My Story in Bukit Ho Swee

02:15 The Fire as a Milestone for Singapore

06:30 A Typical Kampong

09:08 174-A Kampong Tiong Bahru

11:18 Battling the Fire & Fire-fighters

14:14 Arc of Destruction

18:03 In the Inferno’s Path

20:13 4 Dead

22:26 The Fire Site

24:27 Further Research

25:54 Outro

My book, Squatters to Citizens:

https://nuspress.nus.edu.sg/products/squatters-into-citizens

I am Dr Loh Kah Seng, the people’s historian. In Chronicles of Old Singapore, I speak to people about their memories of Singapore before it became a global city.

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Write to [email protected] if you have any of these stories:

• Old places or kampongs.

• Communities – their way of life & culture.

• Childhood & schools.

• Work or business.

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