SINGAPORE (STOMP) – Three people were rescued from a Sengkang Housing Board (HDB) flat after a fire broke out in the unit’s living room in the early hours of Tuesday morning (March 10).

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said in a statement on its Facebook page that it responded to a fire at a fourth-floor unit at Block 111 Rivervale Walk at about 5.30am.

“Three persons were trapped in the unit near the living room window,” the SCDF said.

“SCDF firefighters conducted forced entry into the unit through this window to rescue the occupants. Concurrently, SCDF firefighters wearing breathing apparatus sets conducted forced entry into the smoke-logged unit through the door to extinguish the fire.”

The fire was extinguished with one water jet.

SCDF paramedics assessed the three rescued occupants and two people from a neighbouring unit. All of them refused to be takento hospital.

About 80 residents from the block were evacuated by the police and subsequently allowed to return to their homes.

SCDF’s preliminary investigation into the cause of the fire showed it was of electrical origin from a non-UL2272 certified personal mobility device (PMD), which was charging at the time of the fire.

The SCDF gave the following tips on how to prevent PMD fires:

– The Land Transport Authority (LTA) encourages all PMD owners to use UL2272 certified devices and to look out for the UL2272 Certification Marks.

– Refer to LTA’s website for more information on UL2272 certification and an indicative list of UL2272 certified devices available in Singapore.

– All owners of non-UL2272 certified PMDs are strongly encouraged to dispose of their devices at designated disposal points as soon as possible. For more info, refer to go.gov.sg/pmddisposal

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