Two PMD-related fires broke out separately at a 7th-floor unit at Block 106 Bedok North Avenue 4 (left) and an e-scooter shop at No. 33 Lorong 19 Geylang on 28 October, 2019. (PHOTOS: SCDF/Facebook)

SINGAPORE — Two people were conveyed to the hospital, following two separate fires involving personal mobility devices (PMD) that occurred within an hour of each other on Monday (28 October).

In a Facebook post, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said that it responded to the fires occurring at a 7th-floor unit at Block 106 Bedok North Avenue 4 and an e-scooter shop at No. 33 Lorong 19 Geylang on Monday morning.

The SCDF had responded to the fire at Bedok North at about 11.15am. The fire, which involved the contents of a kitchen, was extinguished using one water jet, said the SCDF.

A male occupant of the unit was conveyed to Singapore General Hospital for smoke inhalation, while about 40 occupants from the affected block self-evacuated before the arrival of the SCDF.

Separately at about 11.55am on the same day, the SCDF responded to the fire at an e-scooter shop at Lorong 19 Geylang. The fire, which involved the contents of a storage room within the shop, was similarly extinguished using one water jet.

A worker from the shop was conveyed to Singapore General Hospital for burn injuries, said the SCDF.

“Preliminary investigations into the cause of both fires indicate that they were of electrical origin from PMDs which were charging at the time of the fires,” it added.

The SCDF noted that all PMD owners are encouraged by the Land Transport Authority to use UL2272 certified devices.

The authority also called for all owners of non-UL2272 certified PMDs to “dispose their devices at designated disposal points as soon as possible”.

Fires involving PMDs and power-assisted bicycles (PABs) more than doubled in the first half of this year from the same period a year earlier, according to the SCDF.

The number of such reported fires between January and June rose to 54, of which 49 were PMD-related fires, from 24 previously. Of the 54 reported fires, 36 took place in residential premises, resulting in 31 casualties.

In comparison, 23 of the 24 reported fires a year earlier resulted in 11 casualties.

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