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Tag: SCDF

  • LTC Shaiful Herman, Kuntum Safari, Antara 181 Penerima Biasiswa Tajaan MHA

    LTC Shaiful Herman, Kuntum Safari, Antara 181 Penerima Biasiswa Tajaan MHA

    Seramai 181 pegawai Home Team menerima Anugerah Tajaan Kementerian Ehwal dalam Negeri (MHA) bagi melanjutkan pengajian di peringkat Sarjana Muda dan Pos siswazah.

    Anugerah itu disampaikan oleh Menteri Negara Kanan MHA, Desmond Lee,dalam satu majlis pada Jumaat lalu (29 Julai).

    Leftenan Kolonel Shaiful Herman Shali, 32 tahun, antara penerima Anugerah Tajaan Program Pos Siswazah Sepenuh Masa (Luar Negara) tahun ini.

    Beliau kini bertugas sebagai Penolong Pengarah di Jabatan Pengawalan Bahan Berbahaya, SCDF.

    Dengan tajaan yang diterima, pemuda berusia 32 tahun itu akan mendalami lagi kepakarannya itu dengan melanjutkan pengajian ke peringkat Sarjana dalam bidang Penyiasatan Kebakaran di Universiti Central Lancashire di Britain.

    “Ini merupakan satu kepakaran yang penting bagi SCDF kerana apa juga insiden kebakaran yang kita alami, kita perlu mencari sumber dan puncanya. Jadi saya harap saya akan membawa manfaat juga kepada SCDF setelah saya melalui program ini,” kata beliau.

    Cik Kuntom Safari pula menerima Anugerah Tajaan Program Sarjana Muda Sepenuh Masa dan akan melanjutkan pengajiannya dalam bidang Perhubungan Antarabangsa di Pendidikan Global SIM – Universiti London.

    Ini bukanlah kali pertama wanita berusia 42 tahun ini, menerima tajaan MHA.

    Pada 2012, Cik Kuntom menerima Anugerah Tajaan Program Diploma Separuh Masa dan dengan tajaan kedua itu, impiannya untuk menggenggam segulung ijazah mungkin menjadi satu kenyataan.

    “Untuk melanjutkan pengajian saya ke peringkat universiti adalah salah satu impian saya. Saya sangat bersyukur kerana diberi peluang kedua oleh pihak MHA untuk meningkatkan lagi sijil pengajian saya, dari peringkat diploma ke peringkat universiti,” ujar beliau.

    Beliau berharap pencapaiannya itu dapat dijadikan contoh, terutama kepada anak-anaknya, bahawa usia bukanlah penghalang untuk terus mengejar ilmu.

    Source: http://berita.mediacorp.sg

  • Man Gets Five Weeks’ Jail For Verbally Abusing SCDF Officers

    Man Gets Five Weeks’ Jail For Verbally Abusing SCDF Officers

    Rushing down to 116 Ho Ching Road to respond to a call for assistance, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officers arrived to find two men, one of whom was sitting on a stone chair and complaining of pain in his leg.

    The man in pain, Mr Santharasagara Channagan, had asked if he could be conveyed to hospital together with his wheelchair. But when the SCDF officers informed him that the ambulance could not carry wheelchairs safely, his friend, Govindasami, flared up and hurled abusive words at all three of them — an act that landed the 55-year-old five weeks in jail on Wednesday (June 29).

    The incident took place on May 27 this year, at around 8.45pm.

    Govindasami, who goes by one name, had called the SCDF for help, and had sat nearby drinking rice wine as they attended to his friend.

    But upon hearing that the ambulance could not take the wheelchair, he interrupted the conversation and was visibly unhappy. He scolded the trio in a mix of English, Malay and Hokkien vulgarities, and they decided to call the police.

    When the police arrived around 9pm, Staff Sergeant Lye Jiawei started interviewing Govindasami. “(He) started to turn aggressive and pushed (SS Lye’s) hand away,” said Deputy Public Prosecutor Kong Kuek Foo.

    The police officer then placed Govindasami under arrest and brought him to Jurong Division Headquarters. Along the way, Govindasami continued to swear repeatedly at the officer.

    He faced five charges of verbally abusing a public servant under the Protection from Harassment Act, but only two were proceeded with.

    DPP Kong pointed out that Govindasami had a colourful history of disorderly behaviour, mischief and theft in dwelling, dating back to three decades ago. In 2010, he was charged with spewing threatening or abusive words at a public servant, and in 2013, he was charged with hurting a public servant to deter him or her from duty.

    Appearing in court unrepresented, Govindasami pleaded for the minimum sentence. Speaking through a translator, he told District Judge Jasvender Kaur that he was taking medication for alcoholism and voices in his head.

    “I wish to be sent to a halfway house after my sentence, to withdraw from the alcohol addiction,” he said.

    The judge said that she would call for a Community Court Conference to be held to assess if a halfway house was appropriate for him, after the prison term has been served.

     

    Source: TODAY Online

  • Meet Kakak WO Rennysa Ithnin – She Tackles Hazardous Materials For A Living

    Meet Kakak WO Rennysa Ithnin – She Tackles Hazardous Materials For A Living

    WO Rennysa Bte Ithnin joined the SCDF after she found out more information about the organisation at a Career Fair. She was immediately sold by the opportunity to learn lifesaving skills and the adrenaline rush of attending to emergencies.

    Having been a firefighter in various fire stations for many years, she is now a Senior Instructor in the Civil Defence Academy’s Hazardous Materials (HazMat) Branch.

    It is hard to fault the tangy WO Rennysa for being too-cool-for-school. A mother of three and a passionate instructor herself, WO Rennysa believes that every learning experience should be a fusion of theoretical and practical vigour, and most importantly, it must be a fun and memorable one.

    With this mindset, WO Rennysa has taught hundreds of local and international trainees from different professional industries on HazMat identification and mitigation techniques. Her trainees include local participants like members from the Company Emergency Response Teams, SCDF Emergency Responders and international participants from countries like Bhutan, South Korea and Oman.

    At the start of every course, WO Rennysa makes it a point to break the ice by gaining a better understanding of her trainees and their professional background. WO Rennysa believes that it helps inject a sense of warmth to the classroom and that in turn, allows her trainees to feel more comfortable about asking questions candidly. WO Rennysa also explained that adult learning takes place more effectively through discussions instead of the traditional classroom learning methods.

    WO Rennysa applies the same principles when teaching her children. Together with her husband, they guide them through discussions instead of instructions.

    “This is what I strive to achieve as an instructor and mother, and it is to deeply embed in my trainees and children the ‘moral of the story’ instead of the countless number of technical points that he or she should memorise,” WO Rennysa said.

     

    Source: www.scdf.gov.sg

  • SCDF Team Who Attended To Heng Swee Keat A Credit To SCDF

    SCDF Team Who Attended To Heng Swee Keat A Credit To SCDF

    The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) team that responded to the emergency call at the Istana for Mr Heng Swee Keat on Thursday have been praised by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

    In a letter to SCDF Commissioner Eric Yap, Mr Lee thanked Paramedic SSG Janice Lee Yi Ping, EMT SSG Mohd Imran bin Abd Samad, NSF EMT CPL Ian Lok Yu Hern and Paramedic Trainee Sheena Chiang Yanpin.

    “They were highly professional and did an excellent job,” wrote Mr Lee.

    “My colleagues and I observed how your team kept your cool and were in control throughout the incident, working as a team with Dr Janil.”

    Mr Lee wrote that the team responded within seven minutes of a call being placed to 995 after Mr Heng collapsed during a Cabinet meeting.

    When the team arrived, Dr Janil Puthucheary was already resuscitating Mr Heng using a bag and mask resuscitation kit.

    Dr Janil is an MP for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC and Minister of State for Education and Communications and Information

    At one point, paramedic Ms Lee asked Dr Janil if he was bagging the patient too fast. Dr Janil responded that he was hyper-ventilating the patient to relieve pressure on the brain and reduce swelling.

    The team supported Dr Janil, then later took the lead and transferred Mr Heng into an ambulance to be taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

    Dr Janil Puthucheary (above). PHOTO: THE STRAITS TIMES

    Mr Heng, 54, suffered a stroke due to an aneurysm on Thursday. He underwent surgery and is in stable condition at the ICU.

    Mr Lee wrote of the SCDF team: “Each knew their roles, and all had the presence of mind to stay completely focused on the patient.

    “It is never easy to attend to a resuscitation, and the active involvement of a clinician already on scene can make it more difficult.

    “Your team was highly competent and professional, unfazed by their surroundings or the presence of ministers.

    “They asserted themselves where necessary and played an important role in stabilising the patient.”

    He added: “Your officers are a credit to the SCDF. They reflected the professionalism and sense of mission that they display daily as they go about their duties to protect and save lives and property for a safe and secure Singapore.”

     

    Source: www.tnp.sg

  • SCDF NSF – A Rant On National Service

    SCDF NSF – A Rant On National Service

    Let’s tell a story.

    I’m working my 24 hr (work 24 hours, off 48 hours) duty. It’s 1100 and I just finished morning lecture (equipment drill and familiarisation) in the engine bay of my fire station. It’s a Saturday so our rota (platoon-ish) orders nasi lemak. Coding comes in over the loudspeaker and we turn out to a case of locked door, suspected DOA (decomposing body). Traffic doesn’t give way to our LF (red rhino), as per usual (smh). We arrive at the HDB unit and instantly we smell the dead body. The knowledge of smell will come with experience. The niece, who called 995, asks me if her uncle will be ok. I already know the body is decomposing but I reply “We’re unsure, but we’ll try our best”. I lie to her face. My pump operator (PO, and the only regular in the crew) looks at me and grimaces. We’ve been in this situation together many times before. We easily break the door and the smell intensifies. I go in first, followed by the ambulance (alpha) paramedic. We find the body on the bed in the master bedroom. The paramedic tells me, “About two weeks”. The body is severely bloated, skin green and black. The face is unrecognizable as it has bloated too much. Bile attempts to escape from between the discolored lips creating bubbles. The smell is sweet but rotten and my fireman gags. I get the relevant information I need and step out for a breather. The niece looks at me and asks what is going on. I look at her and I know she knows he’s dead. “You uncle… has passed away”. I turn away to avoid the emotions. Emotions are killers in this line of work.

    We get back in time for nasi lemak lunch. The chicken is a bit soggy this week. The smell of rotten flesh lingers in my nostrils. I watch the Malay romantic drama that my enciks chose on the TV. It’s ok, the girl is cute.

    Before dinner we get another call – unit fire confirm case. We race there and reach before the fire engine (pumper). They’re caught in traffic and will take another few minutes. Two firefighters and I proceed to the unit. Instantly the thick black smoke chokes my throat and waters my eyes. I struggle with my breathing cylinder because the air hose delivery tool is stuck between my backplate and my back. I say fuck it, neighbours are already screaming for us to hurry. The pressure escalates but I close myself off from the members of public, just like normal. We all focus. The only things I listen to are my matra (radio) and my fireman. I just wear my facemask for minimal protection and crawl in. The fire is well alight on the stove and I shoot at it. The smoke limits my visibility to 0, I now can’t see my fingers as I stretch out my arm. I crawl back out and get stuck on a fallen wire. I panic as I think of my family. Emotions are dangerous. A fire biker crawls in and frees me. We step out and I tell the crew the fire is almost finished but our CAF backpacks are finished (water foam sprayers). I send the firefighters down to set up water supply from hydrant and crawl back in with the firebiker. The smoke makes it feel like someone just threw hot ash down my throat. We extinguish the fire using an ass-washing hose from the kitchen toilet. I am coughing badly but he sprays my face with the hose. The kitchen is badly burnt. I can feel the smoke damage in my lungs. The owner and neighbours pat me on the back and thank me for saving their home as I walk out. I smile but I know I took another step closer to death.

    We get back at 2200 and order McDonalds. It is the best Double McSpicy I’ve eaten in a while.

    At lunch the next day my friend (SAF LTA) tells me how stressful being an instructor at SAFTI has been recently. I remember as my cylinder got trapped on the fallen wire, and how I thought of my family in those few struggling seconds. I nod my head and grunt. ” SAF has it tough with JCC and everything huh?” I joke. He agrees enthusiastically.

    All in a day’s work for the NSFs in SPF/SCDF. If we fail, someone dies from our direct actions. Welcome to NS. No second chances or semula. Just death. I wish the public knew the risks that some NSFs take each day. We might not be as fit as NDU or as garang as commandos, but we put our lives on the line literally every day.

    As an NSF I can say I have saved many lives, fought many fires and contributed to Singapore. No play acting or training for a war that will never happen (though I understand the incredible need for an armed military). I love my job, I love NS and wouldn’t trade it for anything else (maybe an EMT vocation).

    I am still amazed that many members of public still associate NS with army. I wish people would know. There’s no greater feeling in this world than knowing some uncle I helped rescue on my first duty at 0200 will live to eat his favourite mee pok or talk cock with his kakis because of my direct actions. Pride and care right?

    At least I get paid $1400 a month (;

    UPDATE: Thanks for overwhelming suppourt. If I knew how big this would get I would have proofread my writing more ? (some might say it spread like fire in dry grass during lalang season). I would tell more stories but I know that it would compromise my anonymity so I’ll just shut my mouth, and unfortunately since this is a throw away you guys probably won’t be hearing from me again.

    What were my goals for this post?

    • To bring awareness to the nature and extent of NSF work in SCDF.
    • To just get some words off my chest.

    This post was NOT meant to:

    • Bash SAF. I know the importance of a trained military (I believe I addressed this point in my initial post). If we didn’t have the National Service Scheme, invading Singapore as Indonesia or Malaysia would be easy af.
    • Over-dramatise our work. I tried my hardest to write from a neutral stand point and deliver facts about incidents as cold, hard, and true as the Ben&Jerrys ice cream in my freezer however what we do on a daily sometimes makes me ask “Am I in a Michael Bay film?”. It happens to the best of us.

    If you were offended, I apologise. My intentions were merely to raise awareness for the often overlooked and under-praised “little brother” NSFs in SCDF/SPF. So many of our kind deserve recognition for what they deal with.

    One last short bit before signing off.

    EMTs (medical assistants in ambulances) have some of the roughest calls out there, no contest. I was having dinner with my buddy from BRT who later became an EMT at a high volume station when he dropped Fat Man 2.0 on me. Traditionally he and I have always been tuned to similar wavelengths as the chaos-utopia nature of our jobs is only shared between a select few.

    He’s an NSF like me — 18-22, male, horny. As per the norm we were sharing gossip about events or big incidents in the Force, latest happenings and where that one cute paramedic at 33 is now. We were just digging in to our chow when he told me “I had a casualty die in my hands for the first time”.

    According to him it’s not common for that to happen. I nod my head as I spool my pasta. It’s has a thick green sauce and I can’t help but think of my last DOA. I throw the idea out of my mind. Work is work, recreation is recreation. Usually when EMS arrives the casualty has a high chance of surviving, albeit sometimes with long lasting or even permanent injuries, or the casualty is dead. “Case of fall from height. The skull was completely smashed,” he told me between mouthfuls of food, “I had the guy in a head grip but the harder I held his skull, the more my fingers just… pressed into his brain. There was no structural integrity left in the skull.” We continued eating, he had told me of a similar case before. It wasn’t new news to either of us. The pasta burns my tongue and I sip on my lemon tea. Too sweet. “Then he just stopped breathing. CPR AED didn’t work.” It was the first time witnessing the transition from alive to dead. They couldn’t resuscitate. We paid the bill and started chitchatting about soccer on the way to the MRT. It was one of eight calls on his 8 hour duty. The food place was way too expensive and I made a mental note to never go back (unless I’m with my parents). Who charges $5 for ice lemon tea? Christ.

    There are many duties where I don’t get a call the whole 24 hours. If it’s a busy day we’ll get 3-4. 3-4 for him is a light day. Alpha (ambulance) guys really get it the hardest.

    If you know someone who has a similar job, just listen to what they have to say. It’s not easy for everyone to transition from seeing a broken family outside a unit containing a dead body to eating breakfast with their fam at their favourite prata house while being all happy smiley. We all get desensitised to death and risking everything but desensitisation doesn’t mean it doesn’t take a mental toll on our minds and well-being. We don’t admit it because it’s not garang, but everyone needs to get their thoughts off their chest every once in a while. You can help them by lending a ear (or a hug).

     

    Source: www.reddit.com