About 50 people evacuated after e-bike catches fire in Toa Payoh HDB block
A fire, originating from the battery pack of a power-assisted bicycle, broke out in the service yard of a ninth floor unit at Block 52 Lorong 6 Toa Payoh on Jan 31, 2022. (Photo: Facebook/Singapore Civil Defence Force)
SINGAPORE: About fifty people were forced to evacuate a Housing Board (HDB) block in Toa Payoh after a fire broke out on Monday evening (Jan 31).
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it was alerted to a fire at Block 52 Lorong 6 Toa Payoh at about 10.25pm on Monday.
The SCDF said the fire, which involved items stored at the service yard of a unit on the ninth floor, was extinguished with two compressed air foam backpacks and one water jet.
Preliminary investigations indicate that the fire originated from the battery pack of a power-assisted bicycle - otherwise known as a PAB or an e-bike, said SCDF.
About 20 people, including two occupants from the affected unit, had evacuated themselves before SCDF's arrival.
The SCDF and the police evacuated another 30 people from the block as a "precautionary measure".
Two people were assessed for smoke inhalation, though they refused to be brought to the hospital, the SCDF said, noting there were no other reported injuries.
To avoid such fires, the batteries of personal mobility devices (PMDs) or e-bikes should be not be charged overnight, the SCDF said, adding people should not purchase or use non-original batteries for such devices.
This is the second reported case of a fire involving an e-bike in a month.
Two weeks ago, a fire involving the battery pack of an e-bike in an HDB flat in Jurong West resulted in five people being taken to hospital for smoke inhalation.
