SINGAPORE - A fire involving a personal mobility device (PMD) broke out in a flat in Sembawang on Monday (Aug 26).

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said in a Facebook post that it responded to a fire in a 12th-floor unit at Block 364B Sembawang Crescent at about 5.10am.

The SCDF put out the fire in the living room with a hose reel and two compressed air foam backpacks. No injuries were reported in the incident.

The preliminary investigation into the cause of the fire indicates that it was of electrical origin from a PMD that was charging.

Chinese-language evening paper Shin Min Daily News reported that a family of four lives in the flat.

The flat's owner told the paper that his friend had lent them the PMD so that they could try riding it.

When he realised that a fire had broken out, he quickly woke his wife and carried his young children out of the flat.

Mr Albert Tan, 68, who lives in a unit a few doors away, said that around 5am on Monday, he heard the sound of banging, as if something heavy was being moved, then smelt smoke.

Mr Tan, who works as a company driver, told his wife to wake their 12-year-old son and grab the family's pet dog. He said that while heading downstairs from the 12th floor, he called the police, who said they were on their way.

Mr Tan had first seen an e-scooter outside the flat in the fire incident several months earlier.

"When I saw that e-scooter, I started to worry that this kind of thing would happen because there had been many cases of fires involving e-scooters," he said.

The SCDF reminded members of the public to prevent PMD fires by using UL2272-certified devices.

The UL2272 standard is a set of safety requirements covering the electrical drive train system of PMDs, including the battery system. Devices have to undergo rigorous tests at accredited testing centres before being certified.

For information on the certification and an indicative list of certified devices, the public can visit the Land Transport Authority's website at bit.ly/ul2272sg

Related Story LTA reviews PMD safety certification deadline after fires: Types of fires in homes and ways to fight them

In 2018, there were 52 PMD-related fires reported, and 49 incidents in the first half of 2019.

In one case on July 20, a 40-year-old man died in hospital two days after he was rescued when a fire broke out in a Bukit Batok flat. Three burnt e-scooters were found inside.

