Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) beefs up response with EMT and rehabilitation units

The SCDF introduced the above in its recent workplace seminar as part of enhancing emergency operational response in times of crisis. Extract below is from the local "Today" newspapers.

SINGAPORE - From July, selected firefighters will be trained to provide medical aid to casualties before paramedics arrive at the scene during emergencies, under a new Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) scheme.

Details of the scheme - first announced during the Committee of Supply debate last month - were rolled out at the Singapore Civil Defence Force's (SCDF) annual Workplan Seminar yesterday, where Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean highlighted the need to "continually find new ways to develop the full potential of its officers through more effective training and deployment".

The EMT scheme, Mr Teo said, is a "potential game changer in terms of how the SCDF deploys its resources and maximises the potential of our officers in a tighter labour market". With the slowdown in labour force growth, "it will become increasingly more difficult for SCDF to recruit and retain good officers to fill its growing needs", he said.

Currently, firefighters are trained as first-aiders, but through the EMT scheme, they will be able to independently assess patients and render emergency medical treatment, as well as manage mass-casualty incidents. The eight-week course will be implemented progressively over the next three years. Eventually, all fire stations will have at least one fire and medical section equipped with EMT capability.

Also announced at the Workplan Seminar yesterday was the Responders' Performance Module (RPM), a mobile unit that will be deployed for protracted firefighting operations so that firefighters can undergo physical rehabilitation to cool their body temperatures and minimise risk of heat injuries. Examples of protracted operations include the Shell Eastern Petroleum oil refinery fire on Pulau Bukom in 2011, where firefighters took 32 hours to put out the fire.

To enhance the employability of its full-time national servicemen and operationally-ready national servicemen, the SCDF is also working to align its courses to the Workforce Skills Qualification framework, so that their skills are more recognised for employment in the private sector. And to enhance emergency services to the public, the SCDF is setting up three new fire posts in Sembawang, Jalan Buroh and Dover areas this year.

The SCDF is also stepping up in its engagement with the community with the launch of a new application for Apple iPhones - mySCDF - through which the public can upload photographs and information on potential fire hazards and track the status of their feedback.

Meanwhile, the mandatory CERT scheme - launched in 2005 for industries dealing in large quantities of petroleum and flammable materials - will be expanded to designated public and industrial buildings, such as those with a large number of occupants.

The scheme requires an organisation to appoint a trained team to deal with emergencies on the company's premises. A national CERT standard on the requirements for CERTs will also be introduced next month.

How to Design a Fire Station in the Caves!

In today's densely populated urban environment, urban planning has to be carefully thought through even for the zoning of emergency services.

I chanced upon the below article reported by the popular magazine "Fast Company" which showcased how one country goes about it, in managing land use, urban zoning, as well as integrating and harnessing the power of nature in the construction of a fully operational fire station:

View this article!

How To Ensure Safety of Tourists

I recently came back from a short trip in Japan and given my hopeless capability in speaking the Japanese language, it became a convenient habit of me to approach anyone and converse in English hoping that the locals could understand what I was trying to say and respond in kind.

As someone who often looks out for common building features and observing cultures of other countries pertaining to disaster and emergency response, I would often find similar facilities (granted they follow their own Codes of Practices) as in Singapore.

However, I noted one thing that was definitely useful to tourists should a national emergency take place and folks like us would (at that point of time) be interested to know where we should go to ensure our own safety. In the pictures attached (taken while in Shinjuku), is a typical street map indicating an open safe refuge (or what most of us would call, a designated assembly area).

I doubt every country would have such commonly available info right on the streets.

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!

Pandemic Planning Resources

It's been quite some time since the H1N1 pandemic has been the talk of the town in the emergency planning arena as well as in everyone's surrounding community.

At the current moment, we do know that countries such as China will be mass producing (or have already started) vaccines that may possibly minimise and hopefully eliminate the H1N1 strain of virus to some targetted groups of its population. Of course other major pharmacuetical companies are also still in perhaps the final testing phase.

While we await for a "cure" to fully crystallize, it is still important for emergency planners, business continuity specialists, as well as all relevant and responsible parties be aware of key resources that will enable them to better prepare and plan for a greater scale of outbreak in the near future.

As such, I've found the following link to be relatively comprehensive and useful for almost everyone to reference with, pertaining to pandemic planning:

Click Here for Pandemic Planning Resource

Always be prepared!

HAZMAT Response: ARFF Capabilities

Are you in an Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting (ie, ARFF) unit?

Is your unit's primary mission solely to respond to aviation incident and disasters?

To what extent does your ARFF unit respond and gets itself involved when it comes to "unique" situations?

These are some of the questions you'll need to ask yourself if you're a real ARFF responder. Seriously.

I recall my early days in my ARFF involvement, when I was briefed on our unit's roles, response and capabilities. Throughout the training, I was often drilled to respond soley (and mainly) to aircraft incidents, and a lesser aspect with regards to structural fire scenarios. Had it not been for my earlier training with the local city civil defence where structural fire-fighting and special incidents' response was part of my bread and butter, I'd probably be shivering right now, thinking of what flies on board those passenger and military aircraft on a daily basis.

Having basic knowledge of hazardous materials' response (HAZMAT) versus full experience and response know-how does make a BIG difference to life and death not just to your clients, but also to your fellow fire-fighters.

Having HAZMAT suits and owning the latest detection and monitoring device is just one part of the response and mitigation formula. Having adequate knowledge as well as practical training and full competency forms the greater part of this common sense equation.

Because of this sole reason, I'm therefore a serious advocate when it comes to drills relating to HAZMAT response. Not just doing the basics, but right up to foreseeable multiple HAZMAT scenarios.

What about your organisations'?

What is your response capability to HAZMAT incidents?

Fire Fighting Cats?

Yes it's true. No, you're not dreaming.

But can they do it the way professional fire-fighters can?

Well, it seems in an article I read by "Asian Security Review", the Potala Palace located in Lhasa, Tibet has been marked as a major fire risk due to its architectural design and construction, which consists mainly of wood. You can bet it's highly combustible considering the grandeur in its design, as well as the quantity involved.

In fire engineering terms, it can be classified as a high fire risk premise, owing to its high fire load.

The site has ben identified as UNESCO in 1994 as a World Heritage Site and has since then, had a resident team of fire-fighters on high alert during the dry season. But what about the cats? What's it got to do with them?

Well apparently back in 1984, a fire occurred as a result of an electrical short circuit. Owing to the lack of immediate response capabilities, a portion of the site was badly damaged, only after the resident monks and nearby residents assisted in the fire-fighting intervention.

As these sites usually have mice in these areas (yeah, you know it was coming to this didn't you?), there exist a "threat" where they would end up chewing on the wiring insulation and thereby enhancing the fire risk exposure. Do you fire-fighters chasing after rats or mice in your neighbourhood? Neither do they in Tibet.

Now we know what the cats are for... "MEOW"

One Week On...

It's been nearly a week plus or so, since my country initiated DORSCON Alert "Orange" and since then, has already scaled down to Alert "Yellow".

What does this mean?

Essentially, national resources would not be as strained as before, with more of these resources and other government efforts devouted to other much more critical tasks. Internally as an organisation, you can definitely say that the fear and stress level has gone down at least a few notches down.

As a emergency response division within my organisation (in case you're not aware I'm currently in the aviation industry), resumption of daily training in terms of physical aspects has also gone back up to normal level as well. However, PPE items such as BA face masks still need to be constantly sterilised and witnessed by the Station Officer.

Yep, drills are back to ops normal now.

Let's keep our fingers crossed and hope everything turns out well.

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?

Welcome to "Emergency Command"!

Emergency Responder....Good day!

It's taken me quite a while to proceed with setting up this blog site.

The main reason being that I'm not really that comfortable in blogging and more often, folks like us tend to be more 'operational' or (for some of us) more 'hands on' in our approach to problem solving. Anyway, I figured that since I've been in this industry for quite awhile, I felt that I may have something to share for anyone who may also be in the emergency response industry, or maybe considering a career in this exciting and often, highly rewarding industry.

Wait...'highly rewarding'? Well, that depends on how you look at this industry as well as the specific nature of your work involvement in this field of emergency response. Whether you come from the military, homeland security, allied health industry, police, civil defence, or the fire brigade, there will be ups and downs in your career. But most importantly, its the sense of achievement that I believe keeps most of us here going all this while.

As this site grows (and depending on my time available, seriously), you can expect to see various topics pertaining to emergency response planning, management, business continuity, or other related fields being discussed or featured here.

And if you're looking into certain materials that maybe useful in your information dissemination at your various workplaces, you may expect to find them here as well. And yes... if you're a trainer in the field of EM, do let me know and we may have it featured here as well.

Till then... "Standyby for announcement!"