'Fortunately I was not on a plane': Woman's power bank catches fire onboard MRT train

When smoke started emanating from her bag while she was commuting on the East-West Line (EWL), one woman was horrified to realise that her power bank had caught fire.

Speaking about her experience on Xiaohongshu, the woman said that when the train she was on was at Raffles Place MRT station at about 5.25pm yesterday (March 7), the power bank in her handbag suddenly caught fire and started smoking.

"Everyone in the train car panicked. When the train doors opened, everyone ran out. The air was filled with smoke. I quickly threw my bag to the ground and ran out as well. My hand and my bag were burnt," she wrote.

Photos and videos posted by the woman show SMRT staff attempting to put out the fire as the power bank emits white smoke.

Other photos posted also show the woman's top partially blackened with soot and her left hand slightly burned.

She said in her post the station staff quickly evacuated the other passengers. She added the only other items in her bag were an access card, data cable and earphones.

The woman later updated her post to include pictures of the aftermath of the incident, which show her charred handbag and power bank.

They were "so damaged that they were beyond recognition", she wrote.

Explaining that she flies often, the woman added: "Fortunately, I was not on a plane... I can't imagine if this happened on the plane."

She had purchased the 20,000 mAh power bank five months ago from Xiaomi, the woman said in response to comments, adding that she had never encountered any issues before.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) told AsiaOne that it was alerted to the incident by SMRT at about 5:45pm that day.

Assistance was not required, as the fire had been extinguished and the affected train removed from service with all passengers safely alighted.

The train was later moved to Changi Depot, where SCDF was activated to investigate the cause of the fire.

Preliminary findings indicate that the fire was likely caused by an electrical origin from the power bank.

Responding to AsiaOne's queries, president of SMRT Trains Lam Sheau Kai said at about 5.30pm that day, the emergency communication button was activated on an eastbound train at Raffles Place station.

"Our station staff responded quickly and found that a commuter's power bank had caught fire. They used a fire extinguisher to put out the fire and ensured that all 650 commuters on the train disembarked safely," said Lam.

"To clear the smoke, our staff switched on the station's exhaust system, and the smoke was gone soon after. Train services resumed once the affected train was moved to the depot for checks."

Lam added that SMRT staff provided first aid to the commuter, who declined ambulance assistance.

No other injuries were reported.

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bhavya.rawat@asiaone.com