Three vehicles catch fire at Marine Crescent carpark
The fire on the second level of the multi-storey carpark was extinguished with two water jets.
SINGAPORE - Three cars caught fire at a carpark in the Marine Parade area on July 24, with the fire also damaging other cars.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force said it was alerted to the fire at 35A Marine Crescent at about 3.10pm that day.
The fire on the second level of the multi-storey carpark was extinguished with two water jets.
No injuries were reported. Based on preliminary findings, the three cars were not electric vehicles, said the SCDF.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC MP Goh Pei Ming thanked the emergency services for swiftly containing and putting out the fire.
He said in a Facebook post on July 24 that the Marine Parade Town Council will begin cleaning up once the area has been cleared, with HDB officers also inspecting the affected areas for required repairs.
Top stories
Swipe. Select. Stay informed.
Singapore SMRT to pay lower fine of $2.4m for EWL disruption; must invest at least $600k to boost reliability
Singapore MRT service changes needed to modify 3 East-West Line stations on Changi Airport stretch: LTA
Singapore S'pore could have nuclear energy 'within a few years', if it decides on it: UN nuclear watchdog chief
Asia Live: Thailand-Cambodia border clashes continue for second day
Life 'Do you kill children?': Even before independence, S'pore has always loved its over-the-top campaigns
Singapore Lung damage, poor brain development, addiction: What vaping does to the body
Singapore Fine for couple whose catering companies owed $432,000 in salaries to 103 employees
Singapore Kopi, care and conversation: How this 20-year-old helps improve the well-being of the elderly
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
4 hours ago
- Straits Times
Hanoi's plan to ban petrol bikes by 2026 leaves livelihoods in the dust
Find out what's new on ST website and app. On July 12, Vietnam officials said it would ban all fossil fuel-powered motorbikes from Hanoi's inner-city starting on July 1, 2026. HANOI – Almost every day, Mr Bui Van Cong, 36, rides around on his motorbike taxi ferrying passengers in Hanoi, many of whom are travelling downtown for work or school and others running various errands. He covers almost 100km daily, making around 500,000 Vietnamese dong (S$24.50) a day. This is sufficient for to cover the bachelor's daily expenses and rental for a modest room on the outskirts of the city. But the common sight of thousands of motorbikes like his zipping across the Vietnam capital could soon be a thing of the past. On July 12, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh signed a directive to ban all fossil fuel-powered motorbikes from Hanoi's inner-city starting July 1, 2026, as part of a sweeping new effort to tackle air and water pollution in the capital. For the city's 8.5 million people who own nearly 7 million motorbikes, most of them powered by fossil fuel, the phasing out of these vehicles comes at great cost for the average person. 'Our livelihoods are going to be affected badly,' said Mr Cong. It would be an understatement to say Hanoi residents rely heavily on petrol bikes – they use the motorbikes to take their children to school, deliver goods to the market, and may transport a family of four and even five on one bike to their hometowns in other provinces during the Lunar New Year holiday. 'This ban is a tax on the poor,' said motorbike ride Le Van Thinh, 58, an army veteran and part-time deliveryman, pointing out that for millions of low-income people in Hanoi, motorbikes are their livelihoods. The decision to ban petrol bikes has quickly become one of the hottest, and most divisive, topics of discussion among Hanoi residents. Currently, about half a million petrol-powered bikes operate within Hanoi's inner city every day. Petrol motorbikes significantly contribute to the city's worsening air pollution, accounting for 25 per cent of local fine dust, or particulate matter, according to a World Bank report. Other factors include industrial production and agriculture. This has made Hanoi one of the world's most air-polluted cities – 40 per cent of people in Hanoi are exposed to concentrations nearly five times greater than World Health Organisation guidelines. Petrol-powered motorbikes also emit high levels of other harmful pollutants, including nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and volatile organic compounds. Vietnam, which is a regional manufacturing hub with one of the fastest growing economies in Asia, sees around 60,000 deaths annually that are related to air pollution. The toxic smog that envelops Hanoi for most of the year also poses health, environmental and economic risks to residents. Since 2017, the local government has been considering a plan to clean up the capital's air, but the progress has been slow, until Mr Chinh's announcement on July 12. Some like Mr Nguyen Thi Huong Lan, 42, an office worker, are supportive of the move. And while it will impact the daily commute for numerous people, Ms Lan believes that 'extreme situations call for drastic measures'. 'I'm worried about my children's health and their future, so I'm very happy the government has decided to phase out polluting vehicles in Hanoi,' she told ST. 'I bought an electric bike myself last year.' Inadequate infrastructure The July 2026 deadline, which is a timeframe of a little less than 12 months, has also been described as too hasty. 'I understand that a civilised, modern hub should have fewer motorbikes,' said Dr Vu Thanh Ca, a senior lecturer at Hanoi University of Natural Resources and Environment. 'But with fewer motorbikes, how will Hanoi residents get around when the public transportation system is as underdeveloped as it is now?' he asked. The public transport infrastructure in Hanoi remains far from adequate, with only some 2,000 public buses, including fewer than 300 electric ones. The city's nascent metro system has just two operational lines spanning 20km in total. Dr Ca suggested that in order to ban petrol motorbikes or cars, Hanoi must 'urgently' build and operate a good public transportation network and improve urban railway system. In 2017, the Hanoi authorities set a target for its public passenger transport system, consisting mostly of buses, to meet at least 30 per cent of travel demand in the central urban area by 2020. It hoped to raise this figure to 50 per cent by 2030. Mr Bui Van Cong, who provides motorbike taxi services to Hanoi commuters, is worried about the 2026 ban. PHOTO: NGA PHAM Currently, the public bus system currently meets only 18 per cent of the total transportation demand. 'I think banning or restricting personal vehicles should be implemented gradually alongside an efficient public transportation system,' said Dr Ca, adding that the authorities should also enforce strict emission testing for fossil-fuelled vehicles. According to a recent survey of more than 13,000 people by VnExpress news outlet, 58 per cent of respondents felt that banning petrol bikes by mid-2026 was 'unfeasible', and only 18 per cent were confident of the city meeting the deadline. 'They will not able to do that, not next year, not in the next five years,' exclaimed Mr Thinh, the army veteran. 'Where are they going to dump the millions of petrol bikes we have?' While going electric seems to be the obvious solution for some, for others it's not within their budget. The average monthly earnings in Hanoi is around 10 million Vietnamese dong . 'I don't make much money and I have a million things to pay for,' Mr Cong told ST, 'How can I afford to buy a new electric motorbike that costs at least 30 million dong ?' His second-hand petrol bike cost around 8 million dong two years ago. Right now, such motorcycles cost around 10 million to 12 million dong. The Hanoi authorities have proposed a scheme to subsidise some of the costs involved in converting from petrol-powered motorbikes to electric motorbikes. Mr Duong Duc Tuan, the vice-chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee, said the city will cover nearly all associated administrative costs for vehicle conversion, including registration fees and licence plate issuance for new electric motorbikes, amounting to at least 3 million dong . Charging of these vehicles also poses a major challenge for the authorities. Hanoi still lacks sufficient facilities for the millions of electric motorbikes it plans to put on the roads in the near future. At the moment, only one automaker, Vinfast, has around 10 charging stations across Hanoi, only for Vinfast motorbikes. It is unclear how many vehicles the stations serve, as most of users charge at home. In total, there are 200,000 e-bikes in Hanoi, according to the transport department. Mr Tuan said on July 14 that the authorities will establish 'a suitable charging station system (for electric vehicles), while ensuring safety'. Mr Cong said: 'Those (electric) bikes are only good for going to the shop or short distances, not for the hundreds of kilometres a day my job requires, because they need constant charging.' On a full charge, an electric motorbike can travel between 60km and 80km. PHOTO: NGA PHAM On a full charge, an electric motorbike can travel between 60km and 80km. Mr Tuan also said an electric public transport network with small electric buses will be set up to form an inner-city shuttle system to meet people's mobility needs, he said. This scheme, however, is likely to take more than a year to carry out. Mr Tuan did not give any dates or other details, such as the size of the electric public transport network. Changing habit Mr Nguyen Ba Canh Son, founder and CEO of Dat Bike, is one of Vietnam's home-grown electric bike producers that hit the streets in 2019. PHOTO: NGA PHAM Electric motorbike makers are upbeat about the 'clear signal that Vietnam is serious about decarbonising urban transport', said Mr Nguyen Ba Canh Son, founder and CEO of Dat Bike, one of Vietnam's home-grown electric bike producers that hit the streets in 2019. Mr Son said that the e-bike market is expanding by a 'remarkable' 30 per cent a year. He said that the market for adult-use electric motorbikes, like the models Dat Bike produces, is growing at approximately 50 per cent annually. There are also electric bikes for schoolchildren and people with limited mobility. 'We aim to produce 200,000 to 250,000 bikes a year to meet this rising demand,' added Mr Son. Besides Dat Bike, there are several electric motorbike manufacturers in Vietnam. The biggest is VinFast, which is owned by Vingroup, one of the largest private corporations in the country. VinFast delivered 71,000 electric bikes in 2024 and plans to double that figure in 2025. According to the World Bank, Vietnam could have 12 million to 16 million electric motorbikes on the road by 2035. But the country will need to increase electricity generation to meet charging demand. This will require additional power sector investments of up to US$9 billion (S$11.5 billion) by 2030, said the World Bank. While the government's direction for greener modes of transport can bring long-term benefits, there needs to be more work done to support the green transition. 'In order to have green transportation, we need green energy,' said environmental activist Pham Thi Huong Giang, noting that currently, 85 per cent of Vietnam's electricity comes from fossil fuels. Meanwhile, she too was sceptical of the one-year deadline to phase out petrol bikes from the city core. She believes this should be extended to at least five years to help people prepare for the transition. 'It's not that we don't support the switch to electric bikes, we just want an action plan with greener solutions,' Ms Giang said.
Straits Times
10 hours ago
- Straits Times
F1 race director Marques in the hot seat in Spa
Find out what's new on ST website and app. McLaren's Oscar Piastri drives ahead of teammate Lando Norris during the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. Rui Marques is the Formula One race director, with responsibility to ensure that races start with the highest level of safety attainable, or don't start at all if certain conditions cannot be satisfied. Just think about that for one moment.
CNA
10 hours ago
- CNA
Condo near Tanjong Katong sinkhole to hire independent engineers to assess safety
SINGAPORE: A condominium next to the sinkhole in Tanjong Katong will appoint independent engineers to assess its grounds, as authorities complete backfilling and begin further checks in the area. "We understand residents' concern as the sinkhole location is a stone's throw away from our estate," said a message from One Amber condominium's management office sent to residents in the early hours of Monday (Jul 28). "Please be informed that the management of One Amber will be seeking independent professional advice from civil and structure engineers on the common areas, in particular those that are in close proximity to the sinkhole area," said the message, which was seen by CNA. The management added it would share official updates from the authorities with residents as soon as possible. A sinkhole appeared along Tanjong Katong Road South on Saturday evening, and social media footage showed a car falling in. The female driver was rescued by workers and taken conscious to Raffles Hospital. The affected stretch of road has been closed until further notice for repairs. On Monday, MP Goh Pei Ming (PAP-Marine Parade-Braddell Heights) told CNA that further checks in the area include a radar scan that will detect cavities, followed by a probing system that will go 20m into the ground to ensure there are no undetected cavities. "20m is actually (quite deep), so that, they will do at a few spots, and that will probably take a bit of time," he said. "Once that is all completed, they will do analysis of all the results before giving an all clear on the road to be repaved, and thereafter plans for reopening." In a Facebook post, Mr Goh said the Land Transport Authority (LTA) will ensure there are no air pockets in the soil before repaving. "I understand residents are keen to know when the road can be reopened. I think it is best we give the agencies the time to be doubly sure the road is safe before we reopen," he wrote. He also noted that morning traffic had been smooth, and that LTA deployed vehicular messaging systems and worked with the Ministry of Education to inform parents about diversions.
