Two people taken to hospital after PMD fire at Hougang flat
Two people were taken to hospital and about 20 people were evacuated after a flat in Hougang caught fire on Wednesday afternoon.
Preliminary investigations indicated that the fire had likely started from a personal mobility device which was being charged in the living room.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said on Facebook that it was alerted to a fire at the fifth-storey flat at Block 699 Hougang Street 52 at about 2.30pm.
Firefighters had to force their way into the smoke-filled unit to fight the blaze.
The fire, which was confined to the living room, was extinguished with a water jet.
SCDF rescued two people from the kitchen and they were taken by ambulance separately to Singapore General Hospital and KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital for smoke inhalation.
As a safety precaution, the police evacuated about 20 residents from the affected block.
The SCDF also urged people not to charge batteries for an extended period of time or overnight, and not to purchase or use non-original batteries to prevent fires caused by personal mobility devices or power-assisted bicycles.
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