Fires at Clementi & Bukit Merah involve mobility devices, 3 people taken to hospital

Fires in Clementi & Bukit Merah traced back to mobility devices

On Tuesday (19 March), the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) was called to two separate locations to put out fires that involved mobility devices.

The SCDF reported that one fire broke out in a flat in Clementi, while another damaged market stalls in Bukit Merah.

Three people involved in the Clementi fire were taken to hospital for further assessment.

Charging PMA likely caused Clementi fire

In a Facebook post on Tuesday (19 March), the SCDF shared that it received an alert regarding a fire at Block 706 Clementi West Street 2 at around 2.10pm that day.

When firefighters from Clementi Fire Station arrived at the scene, they saw black smoke coming out of a 4th floor unit.

They promptly extinguished the fire which involved “contents of a room” using a water jet.

However, due to the severity of the fire, the living room sustained heat and smoke damage.

Paramedics conveyed three people to Singapore General Hospital for a smoke inhalation assessment.

Citing preliminary investigations, the SCDF traced the likely cause of the fire to a Personal Mobility Aid (PMA) that was charging in the affected room.

Bukit Merah fire likely originated from PAB battery pack

Mere hours after the incident in Clementi, the SCDF received another alert to a fire in Bukit Merah at around 5.35pm on 19 March.

This time, the fire at Block 112 Jalan Bukit Merah involved a Power Assisted Bicycle (PAB) that was parked near a market stall on the ground floor.

Upon arriving at the scene, firefighters from the Central Fire Station quickly extinguished the fire with a water jet. They later discovered three stalls had sustained fire and smoke damage.

There were no casualties from the fire.

Preliminary investigations led the SCDF to believe that the fire originated from the battery pack of the PAB.

SCDF warns of dangers of PMDs & PABs

In the post about the Clementi fire, the SCDF warned of fire risks arising from different scenarios:

• Motorised devices that have been modified
• Lack of proper maintenance of such devices
• Devices not using their original chargers

Thereafter, in the post about the Bukit Merah fire, the SCDF released an infographic of fire safety tips for Personal Mobility Devices (PMDs) and PABs.

Among the tips are not leaving batteries or devices charging for a prolonged period.

Also read: E-Bike Catches Fire In Punggol HDB Flat, 4 People Including 1 Firefighter Conveyed to Hospital 

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Featured image adapted Singapore Civil Defence Force on Facebook and Facebook.