Woman suffers blisters after power bank in her bag catches fire at Woodlands MRT station
A power bank in a commuter’s bag caught fire at Woodlands MRT station on the morning of July 20, leaving her with minor blisters.
Stomper Christina was making her way down an escalator from the North-South Line platform towards the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) platform at around 8.45am when she noticed smoke and the smell of burning plastic.
“When I went down the escalator towards the MRT platform to queue, the whole place was smoky and reeking of burning plastic,” recounted the Stomper, who was on her way to work.
Christina guessed that it could have been a power bank that caught fire.
She said staff at the station had already been alerted and were extinguishing the fire when she reached the TEL platform.
In a video shared with Stomp, smoke can be seen wafting out from a pink handbag, while what appears to be an alarm can be heard in the background.
SMRT: Affected commuter suffered minor blisters, no other injuries
In response to Stomp’s queries, president of SMRT Trains Lam Sheau Kai confirmed that the incident took place at about 9am, when a power bank in a commuter’s bag began emitting smoke.
“Our staff responded quickly, extinguished the fire and assisted the affected commuter, who suffered minor blisters on her fingers,” said Lam, who added that no other injuries were reported.
“As a safety precaution, the station’s exhaust ventilation system was activated to clear the smoke and maintain a safe environment for commuters,” he said.
Trains bypassed Woodlands MRT station for about 20 minutes while station staff managed the incident, and announcements were made to keep commuters informed.
SMRT reminded commuters to use only power banks with built-in safety features to help reduce the risk of overheating and other battery-related incidents.
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