News

Another PMD Fire Occurred in CCK Just a Day After New PMD Rules Were Announced

2019-08-07 , 11:00 am

PMDs aren’t just a menace on the roads, they’re a menace at home as well. Because not only could they cause others grief, they can cause you grief as well.

Just ask the Boon Lay residents

Or the 60 people who had to be evacuated in AMK

And now, another PMD bites the bullet.

Fire Broke Out At CCK

At around 11.35 am on 6 Aug 2019, SCDF was alerted to a fire at Blk 688A Choa Chu Kang Drive.

A fire had broken out in the living room of a unit on the third level, where a Personal Mobility Device (PMD) was being charged.

The SCDF extinguished the fire with a compressed air foam backpack.

Cause Of Fire

I’m pretty sure you know what I’m going to say: an electrical discharge originating from the PMD.

Seven people were evacuated from the unit before the SCDF arrived. Two of them, an adult and a child, were brought to the National University Hospital (NUH).

Another adult was brought to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital.

All three were brought in for smoke inhalation.

Things To Take Note When Charging Your PMD

SCDF has the following few tips that you might want to take note of when charging your PMD.

Do Not

Charge your device near combustible materials or blocking the exit
Leave the charging devices/batteries unattended
Charge your device immediately after use
Tamper, modify or attempt to repair your device on your own

Do

Purchase device with the UL2272 Certification Mark
Use a power adaptor with the Safety Mark
Charge your device on a hard flat surface for optimal dissipation of heat
Inspect your battery regularly for bloating, powder residue or corrosion.

The incident happened just after new PMD rules were introduced to Singaporeans.

New PMD Rules

By now, PMD fires have almost become part and parcel of our lives. And they should not be incidents that we are accustomed to.

After a string of fires that have so far taken one life, the LTA is bringing forward the deadline for all PMDs to meet UL2272, a safety standard that will reduce the risk of fire. PMDs that are certified UL2272 ensures that the charging of the device is cut off automatically once the battery is fully charged.

So far, all the PMD fires were caused by non-UL2272-certified devices. All e-scooters have to be registered since the end of June 2019, and it’s revealed that almost 90% of the e-scooters in Singapore isn’t UL2272-certified.

Since 1 July 2019, retailers aren’t supposed to sell non-UL2272-certified devices as well. Users, initially, have until 1 January 2021 to switch to a UL2272-certified device, as non-UL2272-certified devices will be completely banned by then.

However, Dr Lam Pin Min, Senior Minister of State for Transport, said in Parliament today that the deadline would be brought forward to 1 July 2020—which means non-UL2272-certified PMD users now have less than a year to switch to a device that’s certified.

In addition, there’s a new rule: from 1 April next year, all e-scooters that are UL2272-certified (by then it should be mostly UL2272-certified e-scooters on our streets) would need to go for compulsory inspections.

Plus, There’s A Partial Ban

Other than the prevention of fire, Dr Lam also revealed a new plan that’ll lead to cheers when you’re on your way home and frowns when you’ve just ordered food delivery.

The 15 PAP town councils will ban the use of PMDs in void decks and common corridors, which means your poor food delivery rider would have to walk on the void deck to find the correct lift to your unit.

It’s unknown when this ban will take effect, but by the end of this year, there would be 200 enforcement officers on the ground.