SINGAPORE – About 80 people were evacuated and one person was taken to hospital after a flat in Jalan Batu caught fire on Thursday evening.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said in a Facebook post it was alerted to a fire at a ninth-storey Housing Board flat at Block 10 Jalan Batu, near Mountbatten Road, at about 7.10pm.

The fire was raging inside the unit when firefighters arrived, and they extinguished the blaze with a water jet, SCDF added.

The living room sustained the most damage and the kitchen was affected too.

Two people were evacuated from the flat before SCDF officers arrived.

As a safety precaution, the police and SCDF evacuated about 80 residents.

One person from a neighbouring unit was assessed for smoke inhalation and taken to Singapore General Hospital, SCDF said.

In video footage of the fire circulating on online chat groups, plumes of black smoke can be seen billowing from a flat.

In one video, flames can be seen near the exterior of the unit.

Preliminary investigations suggest that the fire likely started from the battery pack of a power-assisted bicycle that was placed in the living room.

To prevent fires caused by personal mobility devices or power-assisted bicycles, SCDF urged people not to charge batteries for an extended period of time or overnight, and not to buy or use non-original batteries.

Mountbatten MP Lim Biow Chuan in a Facebook post said grassroots leaders were on hand to help affected residents.

HDB has offered temporary accommodation to affected residents and the town council will help to clear the debris once investigations are over, he added.