PMD-related fire breaks out along HDB flat corridor in Hougang

SINGAPORE — A personal mobility device (PMD) left charging outside a Housing and Development Board flat in Hougang caught fire on Monday evening (Nov 4).

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said in a Facebook post that the fire broke out along the corridor of a flat on the 11th floor of Block 927, Hougang Street 91, at around 5pm.

Firefighters put out the blaze with buckets of water.

The incident left two residents of the unit “in a state of shock”, SCDF said. They were assessed by a paramedic but refused to be taken to the hospital.

“Preliminary investigation indicates that the fire was of electrical origin from the non-UL2272 PMD which was charging at the time of the fire,” SCDF added.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has urged all PMD owners to use UL2272-certified devices to adhere to fire safety standards, and to dispose of non-UL2272 devices at designated disposal points as soon as possible.

Monday’s blaze was the latest in a spate of PMD-related fires here. In the first half of this year, there were 54 reported fires involving PMDs, more than double the 24 reported in the same period last year.

The Government on Monday announced a ban on electric scooters from all footpaths here, which takes effect on Tuesday. 

The LTA has also said that it intends to ban the usage of all motorised PMDs on footpaths eventually. 

For more information on UL2272 certification and PMD disposal, visit go.gov.sg/ul2272sg or go.govsg/pmddisposal.