SINGAPORE - A driver escaped unharmed after a car caught fire in Jurong West early on the morning of March 5.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it was alerted to the fire along Jurong West Street 51 at about 7.20am.

It involved the engine compartment of a car, and was put out with a hose reel.

No one was hurt, and the cause of the fire is under investigation, SCDF added.

In a video shared on Facebook, an SCDF Light Fire Attack Vehicle, or Red Rhino, can be seen parked at the side of the road as firefighters fight the blaze.

The vehicular fire is the latest in a recent spate of traffic vehicle combustions.

On March 2, a man died after he was trapped inside his Porsche, which had caught fire. Dashcam footage showed the driver whizzing down Nicoll Highway before the car flips on its left side after breaching the road divider and hitting several cars in its path. The car then bursts into flames.

The driver was later identified as the 37-year-old director of Chee Song Foods.

Last week, a six-car collision on the PIE near Paya Lebar left two of the vehicles in flames. No one was hurt in that incident.

The number of vehicle fires went up in 2024, according to SCDF’s statistics report released on Feb 13, which said there were 220 such fires in the past year, up from 215 in 2023.

In a Facebook post on Feb 18, SCDF advised drivers to carry a fire extinguisher in their vehicles, as doing so could help put out emerging fires.

However, if the vehicle is an electric one, or if the blaze threatens to engulf the vehicle, drivers should retreat at least 15m away from the flames and call 995 for assistance.

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