20230518 Charging e-bike battery catches fire in West Coast flat; 160 residents evacuated
Singapore May 18 2023 “Apartment houses” “Building”
Dead : dead 0 or unknown Burnout : 1 to 29 Injured : injured 0 or unknown
Charging e-bike battery catches fire in West Coast flat; 160 residents evacuated
Updated: 2023-05-18
SCDF firefighters extinguished the blaze, which involved the contents of a bedroom, using a water jet. PHOTO: SINGAPORE CIVIL DEFENCE FORCE/FACEBOOK
SINGAPORE – About 160 residents were evacuated after a fire broke out in a West Coast Housing Board flat on Saturday night.
The fire had likely originated from the battery pack of a power-assisted bicycle (PAB) that was charging in a bedroom, said the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) on Sunday.
SCDF said in a Facebook post that it was alerted to the fire in the 12th-storey flat at 11.15pm.
Firefighters extinguished the blaze, which involved contents in the bedroom, using a water jet. No injuries were reported.
A family of six live in the flat. One of them, who wanted to be known only as Yana, told Chinese-language newspaper Shin Min Daily News on Sunday morning that the fire started in her brother’s bedroom.
“My mother saw the charging battery pack emitting sparks and then it caught fire,” said Yana, who did not give her age.
She and her brother-in-law quickly blocked the gap under the bedroom door with wet towels and clothes to prevent the fire from spreading to other rooms, she said. The family fled to the void deck.
Yana, who runs a home bakery, said she was unable to fulfil her pastry orders on Sunday due to the mishap.
“We will temporarily stay at my sister’s house. My mother is the most affected; she kept crying as this house was left behind by my late father,” she added.
A resident who lives one storey below the affected unit told Shin Min that she was holding a party with more than 40 guests when the fire broke out.
“Neighbours at the opposite block yelled at us to run. That was when I smelled the smoke and realised the unit upstairs was on fire,” said the resident, who wanted to be known only as Namira.
SCDF reminded users of PABs and personal mobility devices (PMDs) not to charge the devices’ batteries for an extended period of time, and also not to buy or use non-original batteries.
Fires involving active mobility devices, including PMDs and e-bikes, saw a 33.3 per cent drop from 63 cases in 2021 to 42 in 2022, SCDF’s annual statistics report for 2022 released in February showed.
At the time, SCDF attributed the decrease to the implementation of regulatory measures.
However, it also said that such fires continue to be a concern for the authorities as the devices involved are often used by those with walking difficulties.
Web Source: Straits Times