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Five people and hamsters found in cages were rescued from a burning flat at Block 451 Yishun Ring Road on Saturday (Oct. 1).

In a Facebook post, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) shared that they were alerted to a fire on the fifth floor of the Yishun block at 9:50am.

SCDF officers arrived on scene to a raging fire inside the flat.

The fire which was burning in the living room as well as part of the kitchen was subsequently put out by SCDF officers.

About 100 residents evacuated

According to the SCDF, they rescued five people from the bedrooms of the affected unit.

The rescued persons were assessed for injuries.

Two of them were found to have sustained minor burn injuries.

All five were conveyed to Singapore General Hospital.

SCDF officers also found multiple cages of hamsters inside the service yard of the apartment, and brought them to safety.

Approximately 100 residents staying on the third to seventh floors of the same block were evacuated by the police as a precautionary measure during the firefighting operation, the SCDF wrote.

According to SCDF, a nearby resident had attempted to put out the fire with a fire extinguisher prior to the arrival of its officers.

Likely started by Power Assisted Bicycle battery

Following preliminary investigations, the SCDF said that the fire likely originated from the battery pack of a Power Assisted Bicycle (PAB) in the living room of the flat.

According to the SCDF Fire, Emergency Medial Services and Fire statistics, there were 55 fires related to assisted mobility devices in 2021.

This was down from 68 in 2020, though such fires remained a concern, the SCDF wrote in the report.

In the Facebook post, the SCDF reminded the public on safety practices to prevent PAB-related fires, including not charging the batteries for extended periods of time or overnight and using non-original batteries.

All image via Singapore Civil Defence Force/Facebook