20 evacuated after power-assisted bicycle fire at Telok Blangah HDB flat

About 20 people were evacuated from a HDB block in Telok Blangah on Jan 3 after a fire involving a power-assisted bicycle (PAB) broke out.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said in a Facebook post on the same day that they were alerted to the fire at Block 108 Bukit Purmei Road at about 1.20pm.

The fire was located in a bedroom of a flat on the sixth floor, and firefighters extinguished the fire with two water jets after forcing entry into the smoke-filled unit, SCDF said.

They added that the fire was confined to the bedroom and there was no one inside the unit.

There were no reported injuries, but as a precautionary measure, the police and SCDF evacuated about 20 people from the affected block.

Preliminary findings indicated that the fire likely originated from the battery of a PAB in the bedroom.

Radin Mas MP Melvin Yong said in a Facebook post on the same day that the town council team carried out necessary clean-up works in the affected common areas and they were in touch with affected residents to provide assistance and support.

He added that there was "no disruption to essential services".

Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugan said in a written reply to parliamentary questions in September 2025 that over the last five years, 187 fires, or about 4 per cent of the fires in HDB estates involved active mobility devices.

Of these, 46 per cent involved personal mobility devices (PMDs), 42 per cent involved PABs and 12 per cent involved personal mobility aids (PMAs). 98 of these cases occurred during the charging of the devices.

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yeo.shuhui@asiaone.com