Fire in built environment - Asia - Japan

Six people were taken to hospital after a fire possibly caused by a mobile battery exploding in an apartment in Tokyo's Suginami Ward in the early hours of Sept. 25.A resident of the five-story apartment building reported a fire to emergency services at around 1:50 a.m., saying, "There's a fire caused by a mobile battery."According to sources including the Metropolitan Police Department's Suginami Police Station, about 20 square meters of a second-floor room, believed to be the fire's origin, were burned. Eight people aged from their 10s to 60s, including a woman under 20 living in the apartment, reported feeling unwell due to smoke inhalation, and six of them were taken to hospital with minor injuries.The resident of the room where the fire is believed to have started reportedly explained, "I was sleeping with a mobile battery connected to my smartphone for charging, when I heard a 'boom' sound and saw the mobile battery catch fire." The police station and the Tokyo Fire Department are investigating the possibility that the fire started from the mobile battery and spread.The scene is an area with commercial buildings and residences, about 200 meters east of Minami-asagaya Station on the Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line.