Lest you’ve been living under a cave, you would’ve surely heard of the Takashimaya fire that occurred just two days ago (26 Sep).

Having forced hundreds of workers and shoppers to be evacuated from the tower, the fire didn’t cause any actual injuries and was fortunately dealt with eventually.

But unbeknownst to the rest of mankind, something else was happening at the same time.

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Secretive and quiet in nature, this incident wouldn’t even have seen the face of daylight had resident journalist site Stomp not caught wind of it.

An e-scooter caught fire in Marina Boulevard and the man who tried to put out the fire was forced to retreat due to the heat.

Yes, my dear ladies and gentlemen. E-scooters have been burned online for so many reasons it seems that…

It has become quite literal.

What happened?

According to Stomp, an e-scooter had caught fire at Marina Boulevard (in front of the Red Dot Design Museum) at around 5:15 p.m. on Wednesday (26 Sep).

It soon got worse too, with the incident causing a series of small explosions, as well as debris from the personal mobility device (PMD) to be thrown several metres in all directions.

Stomper Wee, who chanced upon the wreckage, expressed that it was a chaotic situation.

“When I got nearer, a series of explosions happened and loud popping sounds were heard,” he told Stomp.

“Pieces of debris started flying around.”

He then saw a man running towards the burning e-scooter, armed with a fire extinguisher. But it seems that the device (and the hero without cape) was no match for the E-scooter’s wrath.

“The fire extinguisher seemed to have no effect and he was forced to retreat as the debris from the small continuous explosions started getting more aggressive and forced him back.”

He then shared a video with Stomp, which shows the aforementioned incident. By this time, the worst part has supposedly passed.

The fire was eventually extinguished by SCDF personnel using a dry powder extinguisher. No injuries were reported.

Here’s one from another angle posted by Facebook Page SBS – Sure Boh Singapore.

Outcry

Following the revelation, Netizens didn’t exactly take to it kindly.

(Article continues below) Xing Xing is a 34-year-old Singaporean lady who decides to meet up with an online friend she found in Facebook. But it turns out that he’s not what he seems to be: Prepare boxes of tissue and watch the saddest Singapore Facebook love story here:

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This isn’t the first 

Or the second.

Or even the third.

In fact, just three days ago, an electric scooter caught fire in a Punggol flat at Block 326C Sumang Walk. And just last month, another one nearly burnt a flat in Woodlands to cinders. And last year...

You get the gist.

Since 2016, there were more than 80 fire incidents with motorised PMDs. That’s a lot, by the way.

And the incidents happened typically when the devices are charging.

Which is why the SCDF would like to ask the public to take note of the following:

• Don’t leave your device to charge overnight
• Place on hard flat surfaces for optimal dissipation of heat
• Don’t place the device near flammable materials or along a fire-escape route when charging
• Examine your battery to see if it’s bloated, corroded or powdery

New Fire Safety Standards To Be Implemented By 2021

Due to the increasing number of exploding PMDs, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) decided that something had to be done about it.

The LTA is looking into making PMDs safer for everybody by making the UL2272 safety standard a requirement in all motorised PMDs from Jan 2021.

Retailers are required to stop selling non-compliant motorised PMDs from Jul next year.

Users of non-compliant PMDs, however, are allowed to continue using them until the end of 2020.

The Ministry of Transport urges the public to get the UL2272-compliant devices as soon as possible.

So, yeah. From 2021, we might no longer see these burning e-scooters le.

Now, we just have to tahan the heat.

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