20240817 Resident rescued from Hougang flat in midnight blaze linked to PMD
Singapore Aug 17 2024 “Apartment houses”
Dead : dead 0 or unknown Burnout : 1 to 29 Injured : injured 1 to 9
Resident rescued from Hougang flat in midnight blaze linked to PMD
Updated: 2024-08-17
SINGAPORE – A resident trapped in a smoke-filled Hougang flat that caught fire just past midnight on Aug 16 was rescued by firefighters after they forced their way inside.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), in a Facebook post on Aug 16, said it was alerted to the fire at Block 313 Hougang Avenue 5 at about 12.50am.
When firefighters arrived, they found the living room of the second-storey unit on fire, and a person trapped inside.
They forced their way into the flat, and found the resident in the kitchen. The person was brought to safety while firefighters used a water jet to put out the fire.
Two people were taken to Singapore General Hospital, and another was taken to Changi General Hospital, said the SCDF.
About 30 residents from neighbouring units were evacuated by the police as a precaution.
The SCDF said: “As a result of the fire, the entire living room was damaged and the rest of the unit sustained heat and soot damage.
“Preliminary investigations indicate that the fire had likely started from a personal mobility device (PMD) that was in the living room. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.”
The SCDF reiterated that it is advisable not to charge batteries for an extended amount of time, leave them charging overnight, or buy and use non-original batteries.
In February, the SCDF released its annual statistics report, which found that there were 1,954 cases of fire in 2023 – an 8.6 per cent increase from 1,799 cases in 2022.
Fires involving active mobility devices (AMD) – such as PMDs, power-assisted bicycles and personal mobility aids – increased by 31 per cent to 55 cases in 2023, from 42 fires in 2022.
The latest figures found that AMD-linked fires were increasing again, after steadily dropping from 2019 to 2022.
Web Source The Straits Times