Archive

Always At Your Service

Clad in their neatly pressed uniform, these men and women are usually seen with the President of the Republic of Singapore at state ceremonies. You would have also seen them at the Istana during the Istana Open Houses. They are the Honorary Aide-de-Camp (HADC) to the President. Rescue 995 engaged two career officers and an Operationally Ready National Serviceman (ORNS) from SCDF in an exclusive interview as they share their accounts of having served as HADC in Singapore.

LTA Mohammed Salih Shaik Dawood with the CPL60.

Scaling Greater Heights for the Rescue

Meet LTA Mohamed Salih Shaik Dawood, a Deputy Rota Commander of the Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (DART), who has been with the Force for 24 years. LTA Shaik Dawood, then a second Warrant Officer (WO2), and his team were alerted to a HDB fire at Bukit Batok in 2019. “It was a raging fire! The window panes were shattering due to the intense heat. Our first priority was to get into the house and rescue the casualties immediately,” recalled LTA Shaik Dawood. In a flash, hoses were laid and firefighters broke into the heavily smoke-logged unit armed with water jets.

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.

Nurse Recalls His Experience at the Frontline as a Volunteer Medic

A nurse’s commitment is not just a 12-hour shift at the hospital but a lifestyle. Meet SGT1(V) Tham Juncheng, a professional nurse who took that lifestyle to another level of commitment. SGT1(V) Tham is a staff nurse at the Yishun Community Hospital. In 2015, he joined the Civil Defence Auxiliary Unit (CDAU) as medic.

LCP(NSF) Ian Tay Rongde (left) and LCP(NSF) Mahadhir Bin Mohd Ismail (right) working on their assignments in office.

Meaningful and Enriching National Service

Emergency Medical Technicians and Fire & Rescue Specialists — these are typical examples of vocations associated with full-time National Service in SCDF. However, there are many other NSF vocations in the Lifesaving Force and one of which is the Data Analytics Specialists in the SCDF’s Transformation & Future Technology Department (TFTD). Here the full-time National Servicemen (NSFs) are trained to assist in managing projects involving computing and data analysis. These NSFs are selected based on their academic background and/or inclination towards computing and engineering.

After the Blaze, What’s Next?

You may have seen how firefighters extinguished fires and saved lives of those trapped in burning buildings. But do you know what comes next for SCDF after the fire is put out? It is investigation in getting to the root cause of the fire. Fire investigators will enter the post-fire scene to collect evidences to determine the origin and cause of fire. At times, they work with other public sector agencies to establish ways to reduce future fire occurrences and, where applicable, assist the police in criminal prosecution. They would also assist the affected parties in claim recovery based on the findings from the evidences collected at the fire scene. Rescue 995 engaged Captain (CPT) Cindy Han Chai Yee, a Senior Fire Investigator with the SCDF Fire Investigation Unit (FIU), in an exclusive interview.

Lieutenant (LTA) Muhammad Bukhary Bin Abu Bakar, father of two and a Rota Commander at Yishun Fire Station, has been a member of The Lifesaving Force for over 12 years

The Life of A Fire & Rescue Specialist

Wearing the heavy firefighting gears, running into burning buildings, prying damaged cars to rescue trapped victims, and even restarting the heart, SCDF fire and rescue specialists are renowned for their quick and timely response in saving lives and properties.

Warrant Officers, WO2 Lean Chee Keat (left) and WO1 Dan Qiong (right), posing for the camera with the Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Dogs and Fire Investigation (FI) dogs.

A Working Dog’s Life in SCDF Search Platoon

King Frederick II of Prussia once said that a dog is a man’s best friend. This famous quote still rings true even today. For over three hundred years, search and rescue dogs have been used to locate people who are lost in remote places. During World War I, search and rescue dogs helped medics locate lost and injured soldiers, helping them to find their way back to camp. These dogs are renowned for their keen sense of smell and it is a vital trait required for search and rescue operations. The Search Platoon (K-9 unit) of the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) trains and deploys dogs for Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) operations as well as for Fire Investigation (FI). Rescue 995 engaged the dog handlers from the Search Platoon, Warrant Officers, WO1 Dan Qiong and WO2 Lean Chee Keat for an exclusive interview.

SCDF Emergency Responders Working Round the Clock in Challenging Times

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, SCDF’s emergency responders worked round-the-clock, including conveying COVID-19 patients to the hospital. Earlier this month in mid-February, we commemorated Total Defence Day. In Total Defence, everyone has a part to play to ensure the safety and security of our nation. For SCDF, the focus is providing the safety of the community so that life can go on as normal as possible during and after emergencies. Rescue 995 engaged paramedic SGT2 Gwen Ong Sock Puay and emergency medical technician (EMT) SSG Mohammad Aliff Bin Rosli as they shared their experiences during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

WO1 Mohamed Shafiee bin Jamin waiting in line with other SCDF officers for his turn to receive the vaccination.

Front-liners Who Took the Shot Expressed Confidence in the New Vaccine

On 11 January 2021, over 1,000 SCDF officers involved in front-line healthcare operations received their Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccination at the Temporary Medical Centre set-up at HQ SCDF. Prior to the vaccination, these officers were screened for their eligibility, based on their medical history and pre-existing medical conditions. They received their second dose on 1 February 2021. Rescue 995 engaged Paramedic WO1 Mohamed Shafiee bin Jamin and Emergency Medical Technician SGT3 Muhammad Aerzam bin Abdullah on their experience for being one of the first few SCDF officers to be vaccinated.