Fire at Woodlands flat caused by PMD left charging; teenager and firefighter suffer burns

SINGAPORE — A teenager suffered burn injuries to his back and shoulder after a raging fire broke out in his Woodlands flat on Tuesday (April 9), caused by a Personal Mobility Device (PMD) which was left to charge in the bedroom. 

The casualty was sent to the Singapore General Hospital (SGH). Four others — including a woman and two children who were also in the fifth-floor unit of Block 159 Woodlands Street 13 — were conveyed to SGH and KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital for smoke inhalation.

A Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) firefighter also suffered minor burn injuries to his left shoulder while conducting the rescue. He was sent to SGH.

Five residents in the neighboring units were evacuated, said the SCDF in response to media queries.

The SCDF said it responded to the fire at about 3:25pm. Its firefighters forced their entry into the unit and put out the fire with two waterjets.

Fires involving PMDs have been on the rise: In February, the SCDF said that compared to 2017, fires involving e-bikes, e-scooters went up by 51 per cent last year, from 49 to 74 such incidents.

Most of these cases involved lithium-ion batteries, and occurred during battery charging or shortly after. In total, there were 12 fire-related injuries last year.

The SCDF has urged the public to be more vigilant on the prevention of PMD fires. For example, users should not leave these devices unattended while charging, and should not charge them near combustible materials.