Singapore Civil Defence Force

The administration office tower of HQ SCDF

The headquarters complex of SCDF contains the command centre for all operations nationwide. It is co-located with the Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team Base, Central Supply Base and Paya Lebar Fire Station in a single compound on Ubi Avenue 4. The headquarters consists of numerous staff departments:

• Operations Department
• Manpower Department
• National Service Personnel Department
• Training Department
• Emergency Medical Services Department[5]
• Logistics Department[6]
• Technology Department[7]
• Strategic Planning Department[8]
• Fire Safety & Shelter Department[9]
• Corporate Communications Department[10]
• Finance Department[11]
• Service Excellence Department[12]
• Service Support Unit[13]
• HAZMAT Department[14]
• Central Enforcement Department
• Volunteer and Community Partnership Department

Central Fire Station, built in 1909, is Singapore's oldest fire station

Each territorial division is given territorial responsibility of a region of Singapore, and possesses its own command centre, hazmat capabilities, and internal administration.

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 Institute (NSTI) conducts training for national servicemen. It consists of the Basic Rescue Training Centre (BRTC), which conducts basic training for new enlistees in basic rescue skills and fitness, and the In-Camp Training Centre (ICTC), which trains Operationally Ready NSmen. The NSTI also controls the detention barracks and functions as the centre for the SCDF Provost Unit.

Both the CDA and NSTI complexes are co-located in Choa Chu Kang, along Jalan Bahar.

The ambulance forms the backbone of Singapore's medical emergency response capability and is the most widely deployed appliance. Each ambulance is staffed by an ambulance driver, a paramedic, and an emergency medical technician. Occasionally, a Fire & Rescue Specialist (FRS) or ERS trainee may also be attached to an ambulance unit.

The Medical Support Vehicle (MSV) is a truck that is designed to provide on-site treatment capabilities for mass casualty incidents. On reaching the incident site, it is able to fold out and expand to form a mobile aid station to perform on-site stabilisation and critical invasive medical treatment.

The Fire Bike 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.

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 2018 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.[15][16]

Generation E of the SCDF Pump Ladder featuring a Compressed Air Foam (CAF) pump

The Pump Ladder (PL) is the workhorse fire engine of the SCDF. It carries 2,400 litres of water and 1,200 litres of foam, along with other rescue and firefighting equipment. The PL is also equipped to set up hasty decontamination facilities for a chemical incident. The decontamination lanes can be set up within four minutes, and each lane is able to decontaminate up to 36 walking casualties or six lying casualties per hour. The Generation E of the PL features a compress air foam pump.

A Combined Platform Ladder (CPL)

The Combined Platform-Ladder (CPL) is a hydraulic ladder-platform truck which is used to conduct external firefighting and rescue operations involving high-rise buildings. There are several variants of CPL in SCDF, the largest being the CPL60 which can extend its platform ladder up to a maximum height of 60 metres, the equivalent of a 20-storey building. Its platform is equipped with a water monitor capable of discharging water at the rate of 3,800 litres per minute, and a rescue cage that can hold up to 500 kg.[17]

The Aerial Ladder (AL) is a ladder truck used in the SCDF for aerial firefighting and rescue. It has an operational height of 56 metres.

The Fire and Rescue Operations Support Tender (FROST) is a support appliance that provides additional sets of self-contained breathing apparatus, thermal imaging cameras, gas detectors and smoke and water extraction functions to facilitate difficult or prolonged rescue operations.

It was designed to consolidate the functions of the previous Breathing Apparatus Tender (BAT) and Damage Control Tender (DCT), halving the total manpower needed for these functions from eight to four.

The Tracked Firefighting Vehicle (TFV) is a Bandvagn 206 that is used in forested areas where wheeled vehicles may have difficulty navigating. These vehicles were transferred from the Singapore Armed Forces to the SCDF and subsequently repainted and fitted with firefighting equipment and capabilities.

The Modular Oil Tank Fire-Fighting System (MOTFS) is an oil tank fire fighting system capable of discharging large volumes of foam for large-scale fires, up to 100,000 litres per minute. It is also capable of drafting water supply directly from open sources such as the sea or marine vessels. It is also designed in a modular form to speed up deployment to match the scale of the incident.[18]

The Unmanned Firefighting Machine (UFM) is a remote controlled fire-fighting unit built to operate in extreme heat and hazardous environments, by using high velocity airflow to create ventilation in smoke-logged areas, and intense water mist, jet or foam to put out fires. It was first launched in April 2014. In 2015, the UFM added a rail kit to enable the unit to manoeuvre in Mass Rapid Transit tunnels at up to 40 km/h to put out fires and conduct ventilation operations.[19]

The custom-built Pumper Firefighting Machine can traverse up and down a staircase, fit into passenger lifts and penetrate through premises with a maximum temperature of 250-degree Celsius for up to 10 minutes. Other unique features include a rotating nozzle that can project water mist in 360-degree angles to quickly lower room temperatures and a high pressure hose reel with a built-in water tank that can allow firefighters to quickly initiate firefighting operations at incidents. Its resistance to heat also means that firefighters will be less exposed to risk during firefighting operations.[20]

The Hazmat Mitigation Vehicle (HMV) is a hazardous materials apparatus that transports Hazmat personnel and their equipment to an incident site. The HMV carries a Hazmat Utility Buggy (HUB) in the rear of the appliance, where it can be unloaded to assess incident developments, transport equipment and convey casualties out of the hazard area.

The Hazmat Decon Pod conducts environmental decontamination by sucking in contaminated air and purifying it at a high rate to remove hazardous material and render an area more hospitable for work following a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear incident.

The Mass Decontamination Vehicle (MDV) is a large bus that is able to transport personnel and equipment, perform the decontamination of a large number casualties, and convey the casualties to the hospital.[21]

The Hazmat Control Vehicle carries a chemical detector to detect and monitor chemical release from up to 5 km away. It is also fitted with a launchpad for unmanned aerial vehicles to extend the range and altitude of its chemical detection capabilities.[22][23]

The Command Vehicle (CV) functions as a mobile headquarters command and control centre. The vehicles are the size of a large bus, and when deployed, the body of the vehicle stretches to thrice its size on the road, allowing ample space inside the vehicle for personnel and essential computer and communications equipment. CVs are deployed to strategic locations to provide forward tactical headquarters capability in major incidents or high-risk events.

The Hazmat Command Vehicle (HCV) is a command post specifically designed for command and control during a CBR incident. It is equipped for this task with a wide array of instruments and sensors which can, for example, monitor and help predict toxic material presence and dispersion in the wind.

The DART Rescue Vehicle (DRV) is a specialised appliance of the Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team designed for urban search and rescue. It carries a personnel cabin and can accommodate up to eight DART officers with their equipment. The DRV is equipped with a crane with a load capacity of 7.9 tonnes. It is primarily used to load other rescue vehicles like the DART skid loader, which is used to access confined spaces in collapsed buildings.[22]

The Marine Firefighting Vessel of the SCDF Marine Division participating in a chemical spill simulation exercise

In 2012, the Singapore Civil Defence Force took over responsibility from the Maritime Port Authority for fighting maritime fires.[24] By 2019, the SCDF Marine Division had retired some old fireboats, and added six new modern vessels, bringing the size of the firefighting fleet to eight vessels.[25][26] One of the new vessels, the Red Sailfish, is the most powerful fireboat in the world so far.