Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on Whether Building Owners and MCSTs will be Required to Implement Additional Fire Prevention and Mitigation Measures for Electric Vehicles

Question:

Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs whether there are plans to require all building owners and MCSTs that have electric vehicle (EV) charging stations installed within their buildings to implement additional fire prevention and mitigation measures, in light of the increase in the number of EVs and EV charging stations.

Answer:

Mr K Shanmugam, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law:

1. Electric vehicle (EV) charging stations are assessed to be of a low fire risk due to the high safety standards imposed by the Land Transport Authority. These standards are stipulated under Technical Reference 25, which takes reference from international safety standards and also mandates regular maintenance, electrical safety inspection and testing of EV charging stations.

2. Permitted EV charging stations are designed with automatic internal electricity cut-off should there be a malfunction during the charging process. In addition, the Singapore Civil Defence Force’s Fire Code requires at least one emergency main isolation shut-off switch to be provided within 15 metres of an EV charging station. This can be used to fully shut off the main electrical supply to the charging station in the case of a fire, to facilitate firefighting operations.

3. Within buildings, EV charging stations are usually installed in carparks. There are existing fire safety provisions in the Fire Code to address the fire risk of carparks, such as fire compartmentation of the carparks from other areas to prevent fire spread, and ensuring adequate ventilation for smoke dispersal. Sprinklers are required in basement carparks and carparks of large shopping malls and high-rise buildings. Should there be a fire involving an EV or a charging station, these provisions will reduce the impact of the fire before the arrival of first responders.