ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

Patients at Singapore General Hospital had to be evacuated earlier this month after a cleaning robot caught fire while it was being charged.

The fire alarm was activated after the blaze broke out near a ward at Singapore's largest hospital. A total of 76 patients needed to be moved to other ward areas due to the risk of smoke inhalation.

"The sprinkler was activated and our response team was promptly activated in accordance with our fire safety plan," claimed the hospital in a Facebook post. "Our fire warden went on site and the fire was already extinguished."

No-one was hurt in the incident and patient care remained uninterrupted, according to hospital chiefs. The cause of the fire is now being investigated.

Cleaning robot fires are uncommon, but not unprecedented. In January this year it was reported that a 20-year-old man in Florida was injured and had to be airlifted to hospital after the lithium battery inside his family's robotic vacuum cleaner exploded.

And last year in Essex, residents of a bungalow were said to be "extremely lucky" to have escaped injury after a blaze broke out in their home vacuum cleaner while it was being charged.

• Robot vacuum cleaners are generally very safe to use, according to consumer website Electrical Safety First. The body advises all users to follow the manufacturer's instructions, to make regular checks for burn marks around the plug and sockets and to only use the charger that comes with the device.