Assessment of Hazards at Incident Sites to Prevent SCDF Officers from Sustaining Injuries

Ms Sylvia Lim asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs (a) what procedures are in place to ensure that Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officers attending to incidents are apprised of the hazards they face at the site before they are deployed thereto; and (b) in the case of the SCDF officers attending to the collapsed roof at the Downtown Line on 18 July 2012, whether the chemical burns sustained were foreseen and could have been prevented.

Mr Teo Chee Hean: The safety of officers during operations is a primary concern of the SCDF, and this is ingrained in every officer from the moment they begin basic training with the force.

Upon arriving at an incident site, SCDF officers will conduct an Appreciation of Situation to assess the potential hazards and risks. This includes gathering as much information as possible about the site and the incident from the fire safety manager and security personnel on-site. Where the incident involves hazardous materials, steps will be taken to minimise the risks of injury to the officers, including the deployment of detectors and the wearing of suitable protective gear. Commanders are trained to adapt the mitigating measures deployed according to the dynamics of the operation to safeguard their own safety and the safety of their officers.

In the Downtown Line recovery operation on 18 July, a key concern was the structural integrity and stability of the site. SCDF had to deploy officers into the heart of the collapsed area to search for the two missing workers. The Commander was in close contact with engineers from the Land Transport Authority and the construction company responsible for the site. Apart from deploying a paramedic team on-site, everyone working in the risk area wore gloves, helmets, goggles and long-sleeved coveralls. The operation proceeded only after the Commander had assessed that the risks were manageable. While the rescue effort was ongoing, SCDF deployed a safety officer to monitor any unusual movement of the collapsed structures.

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The search zone was cluttered with metal scaffolding and debris, and filled with viscous concrete mixture reaching up to waist level. To locate the missing workers, our officers had to manoeuvre their way through the mixture since there was no way to know what was submerged underneath. It was a race against time as the concrete mixture was drying. After consulting the on-site engineers, SCDF used water jets to prolong the setting process. It took time to retrieve the bodies as they were pinned down by collapsed scaffolding, metal frames, reinforced bars and wooden planks that had to be removed piece by piece. The search and extrication effort was laborious, complex and challenging.

Despite the safety measures employed, nine rescuers sustained chemical burns on their limbs due to chemical additives in the concrete mixture. They were later conveyed to the hospital where they received outpatient treatment. All nine officers have since reported back to work, most as early as the following shift duty after the incident.

As in most SCDF operations, the risks to personal safety were real and significant. This was carefully considered before the operation commenced, and all possible steps to minimise them were taken.