A family of seven was locked up in their Forestville executive condominium (EC) in Woodlands on Saturday night after the digital lock to the front door did not work during a fire.
The family, with three young children and a woman in their sixties, sat on their balcony on the eighth floor in order to be rescued.
They were rescued by the Singapore Civil Defense Force (SCDF), but one of them was transferred to the Khoo Teck Puat hospital for smoke inhalation.
A SCDF spokesperson said they responded to the fire at 34 Woodlands Drive 16 at 21.35.
He said: "The fire, which involved an e-bike, was extinguished by SCDF using an internal hose reel, and the cause of the fire is under investigation."
Residents of the block were also evacuated.
Neighbors from the family allegedly told the Chinese news site, Singapore Eye, the fire had started from the mobility tool. According to the report, the device was charged at the input of the device and caused heat from the fire that failed the digital lock of the unit.
Several fires with personal mobility devices (PMDs) have been reported recently, including one last week.
The new paper reported that an e-scooter was on fire when the owner had disconnected it from the loading bus in a Woodlands flat on August 14th.
In June TNP reported that from January to April of this year there were 16 cases of fires with e-bikes and PMDs, of which 10 with e-scooters. SCDF responded to 40 cases of fires with e-scooters last year, more than four times the number of cases in 2016.
The Land Transport Authority said that proposed legislative changes will make it easier to introduce better fire safety standards for PMDs.
The proposed changes make it compulsory for all e-scooters to be registered and to show the registration mark.
More details on the proposed registration scheme, which will be implemented early next year, will be announced later this year.
This article was first published in The New Paper. Permission required for reproduction.
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