SINGAPORE (The Straits Times\/ANN): Some 20 people were evacuated from an HDB block in Telok Blangah after a fire involving a power-assisted bicycle (PAB) broke out on the afternoon of Jan 3.<\/p>\n
In a Facebook post on Jan 3, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it was alerted to a fire at Block 108 Bukit Purmei Road at around 1.20pm.<\/p>\n
One of the bedrooms of a sixth-floor flat was on fire, SCDF said. Firefighters forcibly entered the smoke-filled flat and extinguished the fire with two water jets.<\/p>\n
No one was inside the flat when the fire, which was confined to the bedroom, broke out. There were no reported injuries, said SCDF.<\/p>\n
About 20 people from the affected block were evacuated by the police and SCDF as a precautionary measure.<\/p>\n
Preliminary findings indicate that the fire most likely originated from the battery of a PAB in the bedroom.<\/p>\n
Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said in a written reply to parliamentary questions in September 2025 that 187 fires, or about 4 per cent of fires in Housing Board estates, involved active mobility devices over the last five years.<\/p>\n
Of these, about 46 per cent involved personal mobility devices (PMDs), 42 per cent involved PABs and 12 per cent involved personal mobility aids.<\/p>\n
SCDF statistics show there were at least eight fire-related deaths in 2025 as at August that year \u2013 an increase from five in 2024, and three in 2023.<\/p>\n
In October 2025, National Development Minister Chee Hong Tat cautioned against using illegal PMDs bought online, as their batteries may overheat and catch fire during charging.<\/p>\n
He noted that PMD fires are becoming more and more of a concern in Singapore, and urged users to buy compliant devices from approved shops. — The Straits Times\/ANN<\/p>\n
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