Fires involving active mobility devices fall by 27% in 2025: SCDF

The number of fires involving active mobility devices (AMD) fell by 26.9 per cent to 49 in 2025, according to annual statistics released by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) on Wednesday (Feb 11).

It marks the first decline after two consecutive years of increases. There were 42 fires in 2022, 55 in 2023 and 67 in 2024.

AMDs include power assisted bicycles (PAB), personal mobility devices (PMD) such as e-scooters, and personal mobility aids (PMA).

The SCDF, however, said that while there was a decrease, AMD fires remain an area of concern, especially for those that occur in homes.

Out of the 49 fires in 2025, 34 occurred in residential premises — 10 fewer than the 44 recorded in 2024.

Speaking in Parliament on Jan 12, Minister of State Goh Pei Ming said that it is “concerning” that AMDs account for less than 5 per cent of fires in homes in the past five years, but they caused more than 10 per cent of fire-related injuries and 25 per cent of fatalities.

"Their lithium-ion batteries pose fire risks and hazards, and that can result in AMD fires burning hotter and spreading more rapidly," he said.

On Jan 3, 20 people were evacuated from a block in Bukit Purmei, near Telok Blangah, after a fire involving a PAB broke out in one of the flats there, while two people died on Aug 13 last year following a fire in Jalan Bukit Merah believed to have started from a PMD battery pack in the living room of a flat.

While fires involving PABs and PMAs both saw decreases of 61.3 per cent and 45.5 per cent respectively, PMD cases went up by 24 per cent to 31 calls in 2025.

Goh had said that a bulk of fires were caused by non-compliant AMDs, including e-scooters that are not UL2272-certified.

The SCDF said that they will continue its efforts to educate the public on the dangers of AMD fires.

These include not to leave batteries or devices unattended when charging for an extended period or overnight, and to refrain from purchasing or using non-original batteries, as well as non-compliant AMDs.

The Land Transport and Related Matters Bill, which was passed by Parliament into law on Feb 4, has made it illegal to own non-UL 2272 certified e-scooters.

Those who fail to dispose of them can be fined up to $2,000, jailed for up to three months, or both, while businesses can be fined up to $4,000.

More residential fires 

Overall, the SCDF responded to 2,050 fires in 2025, a 3 per cent increase from 2024.

Fires in residential premises also went up, by 8.6 per cent from 968 cases in 2024 to 1,051 in 2025.

Unattended cooking remained the top cause of fires that occur in homes, even though it fell by 17 to 318 cases in 2025.

For fires of electrical origin, there were 304 cases in 2025, a slight increase of 5 per cent from 299 in 2024.

Meanwhile, non-building fires fell by 79 to 528 in 2025.

There were 109 vegetation fires in 2025, down 39.4 per cent from 2024, but fires involving discarded items increased by 10.3 per cent to 107. 

Fires at non-residential premises went up by 56 cases to 471 in 2025, with 43.5 per cent caused by electrical faults.

SCDF said that they will continue to work with stakeholders, including the National Fire and Emergency Preparedness Council, building owners and fire safety managers, to organise fire safety outreach programmes.

"Regular enforcement checks will also be conducted at these premises to ensure compliance with fire safety regulations," they added.

EV fires remain low 

Out of the 226 vehicle fires in 2025, four of them involved electric vehicles (EVs). Three of the cases were due to electrical faults involving the battery.

The safety of EVs has come under recent scrutiny when hidden car doors handles were unable to properly open in accidents.

SCDF said that at 1.77 per cent, EV fires remain low, which is consistent with findings from studies that indicate there are generally fewer compared to other vehicle types.

SCDF also noted that there are EVs only account for 6.82 per cent of the vehicle population in Singapore as of end-2025. 

Drivers in Singapore, however, are increasingly opting for EVs, with 43 per cent of new car registrations in the first nine months of 2025 being that of electric cars; compared to 33.8 per cent in 2024 and 18.2 per cent in 2023. 

Rise in false alarm calls 

SCDF responded to 257,158 emergency medical service (EMS) calls in 2025, or an average of 705 calls daily. This is a 4.8 per cent hike from 2024.

Calls involving seniors aged 65 and above made up nearly half — 49.7 per cent — of all EMS calls.

"In the next five years, the number of EMS calls is expected to continue trending upwards, largely due to an expected increase in demand from an ageing population," said SCDF.

Meanwhile, false alarm calls rose by 526 to 6,239 in 2025; and non-emergency calls went up by 336 to 11,064 in the same year.

False alarm calls include incidents where calls were cancelled or when ambulance crew found no patients at the scene,

SCDF said since June 2025, they have transferred selected non-life threatening 995 calls to medical triage helpline NurseFirst.

Operated by Woodlands Health, it provides advice on a caller’s medical condition and guides them to appropriate medical care options.

"SCDF will continue to raise public awareness on the awareness on the appropriate usage of the 995 hotline and the availability of alternate healthcare pathways for non-emergencies," they added.

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chingshijie@asiaone.com