E-scooter starts fire in Punggol flat
Another fire involving an e-scooter happened yesterday morning in Punggol.
A Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) spokesman said it responded to the fire at Block 326C Sumang Walk at about 9.20am.
When the officers arrived on the scene, they saw black smoke coming out of the unit on the fourth storey.
The source of the smoke was an e-scooter that had been left charging in the kitchen when it caught fire.
Facebook user Carlito Vatos Locos posted on the SCDF page claiming he was the owner of the flat.
He claimed he and his neighbour had put out the fire using a hose reel before the SCDF arrived.
However, the SCDF spokesman said the personal mobility device (PMD) was still smouldering and emitting smoke at the time, and firefighters then used a compressed air foam backpack to completely extinguish the fire and prevent it from starting again.
The spokesman added that a preliminary investigation found the cause of the fire to have been electrical, originating from the battery pack of the e-scooter.
There were no reported injuries.
More e-scooters have been catching fire, from nine in 2016 to 40 last year.
New fire safety standards for e-scooters have since been mandated by the Land Transport Authority, with an announcement earlier this month that all PMDs are required to meet the new UL2272 safety standard by 2021 or be declared illegal.
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now