E-Bike Bursts Into Flames Outside Choa Chu Kang MRT, Heroic Staff Puts Out Fire In No Time

Flaming E-Bike In Choa Chu Kang Possibly Modified

From Jan-Sep 2019, Singapore saw over 73 fires involving personal mobility devices (PMDs). While 2019 is now over, PMD fires are still showing no signs of slowing down.

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On Friday (3 Jan), a video was shared on the All Singapore Stuff Facebook group, showing what seems like an electronic bike (e-bike) bursting into flame outside Choa Chu Kang MRT.

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You can watch the video in full here.

E-bike catches fire at Choa Chu Kang MRT

In the video, the rear of what seems like an e-bike can be seen engulfed in flames.

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Mini explosions akin to firecrackers can also be heard coming from the mobility device which had a GrabFood delivery bag attached to it.

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Based on the surroundings, the fire happened outside Choa Chua Kang MRT, next to Lot 1 shopping centre.

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Throughout the clip, men – presumably passers-by – can be heard shouting frantically for the owner of the e-bike.

The owner later arrived at the scene where he was informed that his battery had caught fire.

Brave SMRT staff extinguishes fire single-handedly

Halfway through the video, an SMRT staff appeared from a room behind the PMD and return seconds later with a fire extinguisher in hand.

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The flame was extinguished within seconds after being doused with a generous amount of smouldering agent.

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E-bike that burst into flames could have been zhng-ed

According to SG Road Vigilante, the e-bike that caught fire was from a brand called Mobot.

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However, a Mobot representative posted on Facebook that the fire happened at the rear of the e-bike which isn’t where the authorised battery is installed.

Instead, there was apparently an external battery with wires dangling left in its wake, which suggest that the e-bike could have been modified with an unauthorised battery.

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The original battery, housed in the frame, did not show any signs of damage, according to the Mobot representative.

For illustration purposes 
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Here are some PMD safety tips courtesy of the SCDF, one of which urging users to not “tamper, modify or attempt to repair” a PMD by themselves.

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Kudos to the brave SMRT staff

Kudos to the heroic SMRT staff who helped extinguish the fire.

Perhaps this is a timely reminder for PMD users to not to zhng their devices on their own.

We hope nobody was injured during this unfortunate incident.

Featured image adapted from Facebook

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