Aviation Foam Tenders in Action!

Well,I was going through my PC and came across a footage my pals recorded back when I was still in the ARFF units :)

Typically, its a process we call "pump and roll". One that involves any of the deployed foam tenders to discharge its foam compund onto the intended "fire target" while rolling around and closer to the aircraft.

Do note that not all foam tenders can perform such a maneouver and it will depend very much on your vehicle model.

So, enjoy the clip!

National Level Exercise: Ex North Star VII

Singapore is currently working on a 3 day duration national level emergency management exercise, codenamed "Exercise North Star VII", which will see the involvement as well as actual deployment of various Home Front agencies (think Police and the Singapore Civil Defence Force).

Held annually to test the Home Front agencies' capabilities as well as response level, this series of exercise also aims to educate as well as seek the involvement of various strata of the common population. Such joint exercises will thus allow all involved agencies and government entities to better understand their own capabilities as well as seek improvement in their delivery standards in the event of a real crises.

So, what's this year's scenario based on? From what I roughly gather (thanks to my busy shift schedule) it will generally involve a "rouge" terrorist body moving across the island.

Judging by the level of planning involved, there's no denial that the responding agencies are definitely taking this whole nation-wide exercise seriously. How do I know? Well, while returning home from my night shift this morning, I was already caught in a 1 hour jam along a major expressway (for Singapore's traffic standard, that's rather long, considering our nation's geographical size). Look at the picture above, and you'll see (look carefully) a convoy of police patrol cars on the left lane, which I took from my Samsung PDA phone (not bad picture quality for a 2 mega-pixel unit, right?).

Stay tuned for more updates.

H1N1 Scaling Down of Alert Level

Currently, WHO has signalled that the current strain of influenza virus H1N1 may not be deemed as deadly as before. And judging by the symptoms shown by suspected victims in reported countries, they all seem to be in a rather "stable" and controlled condition.

Pending WHO's final decision, my country may similarly scale down on it's current DORSCON level from "Orange" status back down to "Yellow". This is essential as it will lessen the current strain on PPE resources to the Nation as well as various government agencies.

For thos of us currently in the fire stations and so on, we will constantly maintain a high state of PPE donning alert.

Hmm... hopefully it really scales down coming Monday?

Swine Flu (aka H1N1 virus) Preparation

Currently as I write this post, my country's been upgraded to DORSCON Alert "Orange" in response to WHO's upgrading of the (now known as) H1N1 flu pandemic virus.

At my station, we've stepped up the relevant preparedness measures in accordance to my organisation's business continuity plan.

These steps include:

a) Screening all incoming reporting duty crew and isolating them in a designated isolation room if signs of fever or flu like symptoms are observed.

b) Suspension of all forms of scheduled physical training (with hte exception of classroom lectures and tutorials).

c) All ambulance crew to respond with surgical gloves and N95 mask.

d) Preparation for possible conversion to a 2 Team shift system

That's basically what I can say here as the rest are rather specfic in nature and yes, confidential as well.

What's your organisation or unit doing?