News

Charging PMD Allegedly Cause Fire in SengKang HDB

2021-09-15 , 3:40 pm

It’s 2021, and you’d have thought that PMD wouldn’t be mentioned again after the unfortunate ban.

Well, guess what? You thought wrong.

Here’s what happened.

Charging PMD Allegedly Cause Fire in Sengkang HDB

On 14 Sep 2021 at 9pm, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) were alerted to a fire at block 185C Rivervale Crescent.

By the time they’d arrived, a blaze was raging in an apartment located on the third floor of the building.

Firefighters donned breathing equipment before entering the smoked-filled premises and managed to put out the fire in one of the bedrooms with one water jet.

The remaining areas of the home was damaged by heat and soot.

Three Sent To Hospital

According to SCDF’s Facebook post, the three occupants of the burnt unit evacuated by themselves when the incident happened.

All three were sent to the hospital for smoke inhalation and/or burn injuries.

Two were sent to the Singapore General Hospital while one was sent to KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

About ten residents were also evacuated from apartments around the affected unit by the police for precautionary measures.

Suspected Electrical Origins

According to preliminary investigations, the fire might’ve been caused by a charging PMD in the room.

The burnt remains of a PMD was found in the burnt down room.

You can read their full Facebook post below:

Some Tips To Keep Your House From Burning Down:

Keen to keep your home, most Singaporeans’ only asset, from burning down?

We hear ya, so here are some tips (courtesy of Singapore’s Life-saving Force) that might prove essential to you:

Don’t:

Charge PAB / PMD and its batteries near combustible materials or along an escape route
Leave it unattended
Charge them immediately after use
Repair, tamper, or modify the device on your own

Do:

Use a power adaptor with the Safety Mark
Charge it on a hard, flat surface to allow heat dissipation
Examine your batteries regularly for any damage
Purchase PMDs with UL2272 Certification Mark and/or;
PABs with EN15194 certification and stamped with LTA’s orange stamp of approval

You can download the infographic below for your convenient viewing:

On a separate note, if you’re interested in more ways to protect your home from pesky fires, you can read the safety tips provided by a qualified Singapore electrician after his dad’s home almost went up in flames here.