Debated in Parliament on 5 Mar 2026.
Ms Cassandra Lee asked the Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs (a) over the past three years, what proportion of fires arose from electrical sources and cooking in homes and commercial premises; (b) how many involved Fire Safety Code breaches or non-compliant batteries; and (c) what plans the Ministry has to strengthen fire safety frameworks and measures and ensure effective enforcement, to reduce fire incidents.
From 2023 to 2025, the proportion of fires attributable to unattended cooking or electrical origin in residential premises was 68%, 65% and 59% respectively. The corresponding figures in commercial premises were 66%, 72% and 67% respectively.
Over the same period, five fires in residential premises and 11 fires in commercial premises involved breaches of the Fire Code. For fires involving batteries, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) does not track whether the batteries were compliant with the prevailing regulatory requirements.
The Member may wish to refer to the Ministry of Home Affairs' (MHA's) response to the Adjournment Motion on "Fire Safety in Our Homes" on 12 January 2026, regarding our approach towards fire safety in homes and tackling fire safety risks in general.
Ms Lee, I will allow a short clarification.
Thank you, Speaker. I just ask because I encountered fire safety issues in my constituency. Batteries will become more prevalent. The Ministry has said in the Budget that you will step up on public education, as well as strengthening the regulations on online sale advertisement of active mobility devices (AMDs). I ask the Ministry what is the Ministry's strategies, viz a viz fires involving compliant batteries. Is the Government considering strengthening regulations like more stringent mandatory battery certification framework, regardless of its application?
Secondly, are there plans to strengthen cross-agency efforts to raise awareness of fire safety in homes and housing estates, including at common corridors?
Mr Speaker, I would like to make a differentiation in response to the Member's questions. When we mention batteries, compliant or non-compliant batteries, I am referring, in my earlier reply, generally to power banks, for example. Those we do not track. And I think the House can appreciate why it is very difficult and perhaps not cost efficient for SCDF to track those cases. It is also sometimes very difficult to ascertain after the fire has taken place whether the particular item is compliant or not.
But if we are talking about AMD batteries, then those are tracked. I think previously we have mentioned that AMD fires account for less than 5% of all fires, but the impact, be in terms of injuries and fatalities, is disproportionately higher, and therefore, it is something that is of concern. I think recently the Ministry of Transport has moved the Bill to that regard.
In terms of cross-agency efforts, I again refer to the Adjournment Motion. I have spoken quite extensively previously in terms of how the Ministry of Home Affairs and SCDF works very closely with all our counterparts, including the People's Association, in terms of community outreach, in terms of working even with schools, for example, as well as Town Councils, in terms of some of the real actions on the ground in terms of enforcement and regulation.
Order, end of Question Time. The Clerk will now proceed to read the Order of the Day.
[Pursuant to Standing Order No 22(3), provided that Members had not asked for questions standing in their names to be postponed to a later Sitting day or withdrawn, written answers to questions not reached by the end of Question Time are reproduced in the Appendix.]
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