The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) is a uniformed organisation in Singapore which operates under the Ministry of Home Affairs and provides emergency services such as firefighting, technical rescue, and emergency medical services, and coordinates national civil defence programmes.
History Singapore's first Fire Committee was formed in 1855. Prior to this, fires were attended to by uniformed groups which included the police, sepoys, marine soldiers and even convicts. On 7 September 1869, the then-Governor, Major-General Sir Harry St. George Ord, enacted the Fire Ordinance and appointed the office of Colonial Engineer as Chairman of the Fire Commission for Singapore. This Fire Commission was however later disbanded in 1884 due to poor organisation and difficult circumstances. In 1888, the Singapore Fire Brigade was established as a fully-equipped professional brigade with sufficient funding. By 1909, there were a total of three built stations servicing Singapore, namely Central Fire Station at Hill Street, Cross Street and Kallang Fire Stations. In 1980, the brigade was officially renamed the Singapore Fire Service (SFS).
In 1970, based on organisational elements of the SPF's Vigilante Corps, raised in the early 1960s, the Police Civil Defence Force was created under the purview of the Singapore Police Force. In 1982, the National Civil Defence Plan was launched, which spearheaded the emergency preparedness for the nation at large. As a consequence of this plan, the majority of the SPF-VC's serving personnel joined the SPF-PCDF, which the plan designated as the nation's primary organization for civil defence and disaster response. With the enactment of the Civil Defence Act in 1986, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), by now separate from the SPF proper, was established as an organisation under the Ministry of Home Affairs. In the same year, the Hotel New World disaster paved the way for joint operations between the SCDF and SFS. The SCDF and SFS were merged into a single organisation on 15 April 1989.
The newly integrated SCDF mainly used facilities which were handed over from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) or the Singapore Police Force (SPF). Since the early 2000s, its headquarters and territorial divisions have all moved into purpose-built facilities. SCDF's involvement in regional disaster relief operations has also raised its profile significantly.
On 18 January 2009, SCDF was classified by INSARAG as a heavy urban search and rescue team, the highest level of urban search and rescue service.
Organisation structure SCDF is led by the Commissioner of the SCDF and three deputy commissioners, respectively in charge of Strategy & Corporate Services, Operations & Resilience and Future Technology & Public Safety. The SCDF is organised with one headquarter element commanding seven divisions. Of the latter, four (1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Divisions) are territorial divisions; another two are training divisions, namely the Civil Defence Academy (CDA) and National Service Training Centre (NSTC) and can be activated as the 5th and 6th Divisions respectively in times of emergency; the eighth is the Marine Division, which was set up on 1 April 2012 with the capability and capacity to respond to marine fire and rescue incidents.
Leadership AppointmentRank and office holderCommissioner SCDFCOMR Eric Yap Wee TeckDeputy Commissioner SCDF (Strategy & Corporate Services)DC Teong How HwaDeputy Commissioner SCDF (Operations & Resilience)DC Ling Young ErnDeputy Commissioner SCDF (Future Technology & Public Safety)DC Daniel Seet Siew TeckAssistant Commissioner SCDFAC Ryan Ong Yuan Wei
Staff departments Source:
Operations & Resilience DepartmentArea of responsibilityOperations DepartmentControls and maintains SCDF's frontline operational readiness across the islandEmergency Medical Services DepartmentControls and maintains SCDF's Paramedic, EMT and ambulance response across the islandHazardous Materials DepartmentRegulates and enforces Hazardous Materials (HazMat) products in SingaporeVolunteer and Community Partnership DepartmentCommunity engagement and fire prevention
Future Technology and Public Safety DepartmentArea of responsibilityTransformation and Future Technology DepartmentDevelopment of Science & TechnologyFire Safety and Shelter DepartmentMaintains and regulates fire safety; Manages and regulates all CD Shelters in SingaporeCentral Enforcement DepartmentEnforces fire safety and conducts fire safety inspectionsTraining DepartmentTraining and maintenance of firefighting standardsCivil Defence AcademyConduct of vocational training such as Firefighting Course and EMT course as well as leadership and command & staff coursesNational Service Training CentreConducts Basic Rescue Training for newly enlisted National Servicemen as well as In Camp Training for NSmen
Strategy and Corporate Services DepartmentArea of responsibilityService Excellence DepartmentHandling of public feedback and service quality affairsPlanning and Organisation DepartmentAdministrative, strategic planning and organisational developmentHuman Resources DepartmentHuman resource management of active personnel and Civil Defence National ServicemenFinance DepartmentFinance servicesLogistics DepartmentProcurement, distribution and maintenance of equipment
Headquarters
HQ SCDF, Central Supply Base, SCDF Operations Centre, and Paya Lebar Fire Station are located in the Civil Defence Complex at Ubi.
Operational divisions
Each territorial division has a boundary of responsibility within Singapore, and possesses its own command centre and hazmat capabilities. Administrative and logistical support is split between Corporate Service Hub East and Corporate Service Hub West. +DivisionResponsibilityFire StationsFire PostsLocation1st DivisionCovers the general south of Singapore, stretching from Clementi to the Central Business District (CBD), and also includes Jurong Island, an oil refining centre.Central, Alexandra, Clementi, Jurong Island, Bishan, Banyan, Marina Bay, and SentosaBoon Keng, Cairnhill, Bukit Merah View, Telok Blangah, Clementi West, Dover, Jurong Pier and Toa PayohQueenstown (co-located with Queenstown Neighbourhood Police Centre and Alexandra Fire Station)2nd DivisionCovers the east of Singapore, including Changi Airport.Paya Lebar, Changi, Tampines, and KallangEunos, Marine Parade, Chai Chee, Upper Changi, Siglap (Ambulance Post), Pasir Ris and Joo SengTampines (co-located with Tampines Fire Station)3rd DivisionCovers the north and northeast of Singapore including Pulau Ubin.Yishun, Ang Mo Kio, Sengkang, and PunggolNee Soon Central, Sembawang, Cheng San, and Braddell HeightsYishun (co-located with Yishun Fire Station)4th DivisionCovers the west and northwest of Singapore.Jurong, Tuas, Woodlands, Bukit Batok, and Tuas ViewJurong East, Jurong West, Tuas Checkpoint, Woodlands, Sungei Kadut, Bukit Panjang, Choa Chu Kang and Bukit TimahBukit Batok (co-located with Bukit Batok Fire Station)Marine Division (8th Division)Covers marine fire and rescue incidents.West Coast and BraniGul and LoyangPulau Brani (co-located with Brani Marine Fire Station)
Specialist units UnitsAbbreviationArea of responsibilityDisaster Assistance and Rescue TeamDARTSCDF's elite team that specialises in complex incidents such as technical rescue, large-scale disasters and prolonged firefightingSpecial Response UnitSRUSpecial Response Unit (SRU) specialises in decontamination, large fire, rescue operations, mass casualty ambulance conveyance, and provides additional manpower support to all operational divisionsFire Investigation UnitFIUFire Investigation Unit (FIU) is in-charge of conducting post-incident investigation to determine the probable causes of fire
Training divisions The Civil Defence Academy (CDA) conducts training for the various vocations and specialisations within the SCDF, including the Section Commander Course (SCC) and Rota Commander Course (RCC).
The National Service Training Centre (NSTC) conducts training for national servicemen. It consists of the Basic Rescue Training Branch (BRTB), which conducts basic training for new enlistees in basic rescue skills and fitness, and the In-Camp Training Branch (ICTB), which trains Operationally Ready NSmen. The Civil Defence Detention Barracks, under the purview of the SCDF Provost Unit, are also located in a corner of the NSTC. Detainees from both SCDF and SPF can be detained here throughout the duration of their detention. Subunits of the Provost Unit are also housed here.
The Home Team Tactical Centre provides an additional training ground for trainees to experience. It replaces the Mandai Training Village which has since been demolished.
List of appliances The SCDF maintains a large fleet of custom-made vehicles (referred to as appliances) that are capable of mitigating a variety of incidents. Many of the appliances were designed and commissioned by the SCDF rather than ready-made designs.
Paramedical response vehicles Ambulance The ambulance forms the backbone of Singapore's medical emergency response capability and is the most widely deployed appliance. Ambulances are often referred to by their callsign, "Alpha." Each ambulance is staffed by up to 3 emergency medical technicians (one serving as a driver) and 1 paramedic. Medic trainees from the Singapore Armed Forces can also be sent for attachment to these Ambulances. The latest 7th Generation ambulances comes with a self-decontamination system which is capable of decontaminating the ambulance when needed.
Medical Support Vehicle (MSV) The Medical Support Vehicle (MSV) is a truck that is designed to provide on-site treatment capabilities for mass casualty incidents. On reaching an incident site, it is able to fold out and expand to form a mobile aid station, with up to 16 beds, to perform on-site stabilization and critical invasive medical treatment. When fully deployed, it is capable of treating a large number of patients simultaneously on an operating table that slides under its "wings". In addition, MSVs are loaded with a larger inventory of medical equipment, being able to treat up to 400 patients per vehicle, so as to manage mass-casualty incidents.
Firefighting appliances
Fire Bike
The Fire Bike, also known as the Red Scorpion, is a three-wheeled Piaggio MP3 that carries a single firefighter. They are able to navigate traffic to provide a faster initial response to emergencies. The Fire Bike carries a compressed air foam backpack which can extinguish handle smaller conflagrations such as household and vehicle fires. It is also equipped with an automated external defibrillator to respond to medical emergencies in concert with an ambulance.
Light Fire Attack Vehicle (LFAV)
The Light Fire Attack Vehicle (LFAV), also known as the Red Rhino, was first introduced in 2000. It is designed to be more compact than a traditional fire engine, allowing it to be stationed at a larger variety of locations.
The most recent iteration is the 6th generation, unveiled in 2022 at the SCDF Workplan Seminar. Instead of the traditional 4-man crew in the previous LFAV generations, the 6th generation carries a robot named the Red Rhino Robot (3R) which fits in the rear passenger compartment. The 3R conducts reconnaissance operations to locate the seat of fire through the use of thermal imaging and relay the information to the operator, who can then direct firefighting operations. The robot is able to mitigate a fire within confines of approximately 15m2.
Pump Ladder (PL)