PMD-related fire broke out outside flat in Hougang
SINGAPORE — A fire involving a personal mobility device (PMD) broke out outside a flat in Hougang on Monday (4 November).
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said in a Facebook post that it responded to a fire outside an 11th-floor unit at Block 927 Hougang Street 91 at about 5pm on Monday.
The fire, which involved a PMD along the corridor, was extinguished by the SCDF with buckets of water.
“Two unit occupants, who were in a state of shock, were assessed by an SCDF paramedic but they subsequently refused conveyance to the hospital,” said the SCDF.
Preliminary investigations by the SCDF indicated that the fire was of electrical origin from a non-UL2272 PMD, which was charging at the time of the fire.
PMD owners are encouraged by the Land Transport Authority to use UL2272 certified devices.
As such, the SCDF called for all owners of non-UL2272 certified PMDs to “dispose their devices at designated disposal points as soon as possible”.
Last Monday, two people were conveyed to the hospital, following two separate fires involving PMDs that occurred within an hour of each other.
Fires involving PMDs and power-assisted bicycles (PABs) more than doubled in the first half of this year from a year earlier, according to the SCDF.
The number of such reported fires between January and June rose to 54, of which 49 were PMD-related fires, from 24 previously. Of the 54 reported fires, 36 took place in residential premises, resulting in 31 casualties.
In comparison, 23 of the 24 reported fires a year earlier resulted in 11 casualties.
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