SINGAPORE (THE NEW PAPER) - A fire involving an e-scooter that was being charged broke out at a Housing Board block in Pasir Ris early Thursday morning (Oct 18).

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) responded to the fire at 1.40am.

It added preliminary investigations indicated it had started from the battery pack of a personal mobility device that was being charged in a utility room at Block 147 Pasir Ris Street 13.

When The New Paper visited the block on Thursday, a resident, who wanted to be known only as Ms Tan, said a resident had given the e-scooter to a cleaner.

"I was asleep when someone knocked on my door persistently and told me to evacuate. It was smoky and hazy outside. When I returned home after an hour, there was no electricity."

Another resident, who wanted to be known only as Mr Kumar, said the smoke was so strong that it seeped into his air-conditioned room and woke him up.

"I ran out... and saw thick black smoke coming up from the void deck," said Mr Kumar, who then called the police.

"When the police broke into the utility room in the void deck, there were flames everywhere."

He said his wife later came down with their children and three cats.

Residents said they saw workers removing several items, including tins of paint from the utility room on Thursday.

Two fires involving e-scooters occurred in Punggol and Marina Boulevard last month.

SCDF figures show there were 40 fires involving e-scooters last year, up from just nine in 2016.