Archive

HTTC Trainers CPT Aloysius Foo and WO2 Siti Mariam Binte Othman

Moulding New Generations of Marine Specialists

The Civil Defence Academy’s (CDA) enduring philosophy “Train as we Operate” is deeply entrenched in SCDF officers. This is especially so for SCDF’s trainers at the Home Team Tactical Centre (HTTC) where there are various purpose-built training simulators, such as ORCA, a simulator specially designed to provide realistic marine firefighting and rescue simulations and scenarios for trainees.

The Unsung Heroes of the Force

You would have heard about SCDF’s emergency responders at the frontlines responding to emergencies to protect and save lives and property. But do you know there is a team that is working tirelessly behind the scenes managing resources and providing logistics support for smooth and effective runs of courses at the Civil Defence Academy (CDA)? These unsung heroes are none other than the team of dedicated staff at the Corporate Services Hub (West). We recently met up with Staff Sergeant (SSG) Azmi Bin Abdul Samad, an Operations Logistics Specialist (OLS) and Sergeant 1 (SGT1) (NSF) Muhammad Saufi Bin Hussain, a Senior Info-communications Assistant from Corporate Services Hub West [CSH(W)]. Both SSG Azmi and SGT1 (NSF) Saufi play a pivotal role in providing critical support functions that contributes to the mission success of SCDF.

Auxiliary Police Officers Going Beyond The Call of Duty

A quiet Sunday morning on 14 November 2021 was disrupted by a deafening crash. A car had overturned near some bollards outside the Parliament House. Without hesitation, Staff Sergeant (APF) Mohammad Bin Jamaludin, an Auxiliary Police Officer (APO) from Certis CISCO Security Pte Ltd who was on duty at the nearby Supreme Court sprang into action. He was the first to arrive at the scene of the road traffic accident. He noticed that a driver was stuck in his car while a passenger was pinned under it!

These Rescuers Would Scale Any Heights Just to Save Lives

On the evening of 12 November 2021, SCDF fire and rescue specialists from Central Fire Station and members of the elite Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (DART) responded to a height rescue operation at a construction site along Beach Road. A man had injured his leg while working on a 70-metre tower crane and was unable to climb down to safety.

Lifesavers on Bikes

Weaving through heavy traffic on their motorcycles, putting out fires with compressed air-foam backpacks and even restarting a heart, SCDF fire bikers are usually the first to arrive at the scene of an emergency. Thanks to their speedy and efficient fire bikes. The fire bikes were first introduced to combat increasing traffic congestion which delays fire appliances responding to emergencies. This is because response time is a critical factor in preventing the spread of fires. It was not until 2012 that fire bikers began to attend to both fire and medical cases.

SWO1 Irianto Bin Marino (left) and MAJ Abdul Razak Senin (right) holding their well-deserved medallion.

Former Veteran DART Rescuers Recall Their First Overseas Operation

MAJOR (MAJ) Abdul Razak Senin and Senior Warrant Officer (SWO1) Irianto Bin Marino can never forget their first overseas operation as rescuers from the newly formed Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (DART) twenty-seven years ago. It was also the year when they had just graduated from the 1st DART Conversion Course. Five months after the conversion course, on 11 December 1993, a huge mudslide brought on by the heavy December rains triggered the collapse of a 12-storey building on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Within hours, DART rescuers were activated to assist in the rescue mission at Highland Towers in Kuala Lumpur.

COL Chew Keng Tok holding his well-deserved medallion

In Conversation with COLONEL Chew Keng Tok, a Veteran DART Rescuer

Meet COLONEL (COL) Chew Keng Tok who has spent over 16 years as a member of the elite Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (DART) in the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF). COL Chew had graduated from the 10th DART Specialist Course in 2003. He joined the elite unit as a Platoon Commander from 2003 to 2006, and later led the unit as the DART Commander for close to five years since 2015. On 26 October 2020, COL Chew was one of the eight DART members who received a medallion each for their immense contributions to the unit over the years. Today, he is the Commander of 2nd SCDF Division.

In Conversation with SCDF Legend — Encik Agayle (Part 2)

In a previous e-article of Rescue 995, SWO (RET) Mohd Salleh Bin Ali, affectionately and commonly known as Encik Agayle, walked us down the memory lane of his life as a firefighter and trainer in the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) for the past 45 years. In this second and final part article, Encik Agayle recalled some of the major incidents which he had responded to during the early days of his career.

HeartSavers Saved the Day for Lengkok Bahru Residents

The Queenstown HeartSavers Connect, together with SCDF firefighters and police officers, evacuated about 60 residents from the 7th to the 16th floor when a fire broke out in a kitchen of a HDB unit at Lengkok Bahru on the evening of 16 April 2020. No one was injured.

CPT Amelia in a role-playing exercise during the course as she presented a situation report to the ‘UN Secretary General’

ACE Stellar Awardee Wants To Be There For Disaster-Stricken Communities

CPT Amelia Lim, a graduate from the AHA Centre Executive (ACE) Programme in November 2019, was one of the three outstanding participants who were awarded the ACE Stellar Award. For this programme’s intake, CPT Amelia is the only Singaporean among 18 representatives from the 10 Asean countries. She is also the first female SCDF officer to be a member of the Asean Emergency Response and Assessment Team and a certified leader in disaster management.