Firefighters rescue two from window ledge of flat after PMDs catch fire

SCDF said it was alerted to the fire at Block 872A Tampines Street 86 at about 9.10pm on Oct 15. - SCREENGRAB FROM GOOGLE MAPS

SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/Asia News Network): Firefighters rescued two people who were perched precariously on the window ledge of their fifth-floor HDB unit in Tampines after a fire broke out on Sunday (Oct 15).

Preliminary investigations suggest that the fire likely originated from the batteries of two personal mobility devices (PMDs) that were charging in the living room.

In a bid to escape the fire, one person climbed out of the kitchen window and stood on the ledge, while another in the bedroom climbed out and was trapped on the bedroom window ledge. Both of them were saved by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) using an aerial rescue platform.

A third person who was initially standing on the bedroom window ledge had climbed back into the unit and was rescued by firefighters who broke in through the unit’s front door.

SCDF said it was alerted to the fire at Block 872A Tampines Street 86 at about 9.10pm that day and later extinguished the fire using a water jet.

The fire involved the contents of the flat’s living room, it added.

About 15 people from the neighbouring units were evacuated and the three people who were rescued were taken to Singapore General Hospital.

SCDF reminded the public to prevent PMD fires by not charging batteries for an extended period of time or overnight.

“Do not purchase or use non-original batteries,” it added.