SCDF saves three trapped people after PMD catches fire in Sengkang
Firefighters rescued three people who were trapped after a fire broke out in the living room of a Sengkang flat yesterday.
The blaze at a fourth-storey unit at Block 111 Rivervale Walk is believed to have been started by a charging personal mobility device (PMD) at 5.30am.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said on its Facebook page that its officers forced their way in through a window to rescue the trapped victims from the smoke-filled unit.
Other firefighters wearing breathing apparatus sets forced open the front door to put out the fire with one water jet.
Paramedics checked the three occupants and two people from the unit next door. All five declined to be taken to hospital.
About 80 residents were evacuated from the block by the police. They were later allowed to return to their homes.
Preliminary investigations indicated the fire was of electrical origin from a non-UL2272 certified PMD that was being charged, SCDF said.
It reminded owners of non-UL2272 certified PMDs to dispose of them at designated disposal points as soon as possible.
SCDF also advised PMD owners not to leave charging devices unattended for an extended period and not to charge a PMD immediately after use or near combustible materials.
PIONEER INDUSTRIAL ESTATE
In another incident, more than 50 occupants fled after a warehouse in Pioneer industrial estate wen t up in flames on Monday night.
SCDF said yesterday the blaze had fully engulfed the building, which was occupied by Chasen Logistics, by the time its officers arrived at 8.10pm.
No injuries were reported.
About 80 firefighters, using 31 emergency vehicles, seven water jets, two monitors and two unmanned firefighting machines, took close to five hours to bring the raging fire under control.
The zinc roof had collapsed and trapped the blaze underneath it, hindering the firefighters' access to the fire, SCDF said.
It added that the firefighters had to inch "their way through the rubble of heated metal to extinguish the fire".
The warehouse contents included plywood, household electrical appliances and furniture. The SCDF is investigating the cause of the fire. - ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY WONG YANG
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