SINGAPORE – A worker fainted while trying to retrieve supplies after being overwhelmed by smoke from a fire in the supply room of the 10th floor ward of Ku Teck Puat Hospital.
Seeing thick smoke rising from the room, a nurse alerted the ward to the fire, activated the fire alarm, and mobilized five members of Yishun Health’s Corporate Emergency Response Team (Cert).
Using fire extinguishers, they tried to contain the fire caused by an electrical fault before the arrival of the Singapore Civil Defense Force (SCDF).
About 550 people, including hospital staff, were evacuated.
This scenario was part of a simulation at the start of the annual mass fire evacuation drill on Thursday.
After a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Thursday’s event marked the beginning of a month-long campaign hosted by the National Fire and Emergency Preparedness Council in partnership with the SCDF to promote fire safety and emergency preparedness. It showed the beginning.
Fire drills are held in September at approximately 310 commercial and industrial buildings, with over 58,000 participants.
In Thursday’s drill, horizontal evacuation was first carried out, and participants were quickly evacuated to the next ward on the same floor via a connecting passageway. This is especially important in a hospital context where there may be patients with restricted mobility.
A vertical evacuation was then conducted and participants were assembled at designated assembly points using stairs and lifts.
Muhammad Fariz Mohd Noor, one of five Cert members who participated in the exercise, said the team undergoes monthly refresher courses and twice-yearly drills to maintain operational readiness. .
“Cert’s responsibility is to respond to any emergency and to contain the situation until help arrives from the authorities.”
