Woman taken to hospital after power bank catches fire in train cabin at Admiralty MRT station

SINGAPORE – A woman was taken to hospital after a power bank caught fire in a train carriage at Admiralty MRT station on March 16.

The fire was quickly put out by the woman, and station staff attended to the situation upon arrival, said SMRT Trains. She was given first aid.

No other injuries were reported.

In response to queries, the Singapore Civil Defence Force said they received a call for assistance at 70 Woodlands Avenue 7, which is the address of Admiralty MRT station, at about 3.20pm that day.

The woman was taken to Woodlands Hospital.

SMRT Trains president Lam Sheau Kai said in response to queries that station staff responded to the incident on the northbound train after the emergency communication button was activated at about 3pm.

The staff established that a passenger’s power bank had caught fire.

In a Facebook post on March 16, netizen Vernon Lim shared a picture of the aftermath of the incident. The photo shows charred pieces of what appears to be a broken power bank strewn across the cabin floor.

Mr Lim, 50, who was on the way home in another cabin at the time of the incident, told The Straits Times he heard a “bang”, followed by a person screaming. The person then rushed into the cabin he was in before exiting the train.

“People were shocked. They stood up, and a number of them exited the carriage with the girl like they were scared,” he said.

Entering the cabin where the sound originated, Mr Lim said he saw smoke resembling a “cloudy mist” wafting from the floor and the charred metal pieces depicted in the photo.

He said station staff then came into the cabin and told passengers to alight and continue their journey on the next train.

SMRT Trains’ Mr Lam said that for safety reasons, passengers were asked to disembark and board the next train. The affected train was moved to the depot for further checks.

“We would like to remind commuters to ensure their power banks have proper safety protection features and are in good condition to reduce the risk of such incidents,” he said.