The Bukit Batok fire that took place on Thursday night at an HDB unit has claimed a life. 41 year old Mr Goh Keng Soon, who was initially rescued by SCDF officers when the fire broke out in his flat, succumbed to his injuries on Saturday morning. He had third degree burns on 40% of his body and died at SGH.
Mr Goh was a private hire car driver. His cause of death has yet to be confirmed, as investigations are still ongoing. Mr Goh is believed to be the first person in Singapore to have died as a direct recult of a fire caused by a charging PMD. There has been an increase in the cases of fire caused by PMD, simply because of the number of PMDs now in SG. In 2018, there were 74 such fires, a 51 per cent increase from the 49 cases in 2017.
The death have sparked concerns among neighborurs, as many fear that they can fall victims to the fire even if they do not own a PMD themselves. While flyers and numerous notices have been put up to remind PMD users to only use reliable batteries and charge their power accordingly, many still do not abide by such practices. This can only increase fire safety risks. While Mr Goss is the first death directly related to a PMD fire, will we see more of such unfortunate incidents in the future?
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