In this edition of Ask Me Anything, I've invited one of the coolest dude I've met on Habbo, nimjah - who is a firefighter with the Singapore Civil Defence Force!



He will be answering your questions on this thread - simply post a reply below. You may ask him questions related to Firefighting, cool stories, most memorable experience etc. but please do not ask any personal information that'll make his identity identifiable. Make sure that your questions do not violate our Terms of Service.


Introduction/about me
My name is Nim, currently serving as a Fireman in SCDF (Singapore Civil Defence Force). I love what I do and saving lives is not the only thing people in the force do. Firefighters are primarily responsible for responding to fires, accidents and other incidents where risks are posed to life and property. Firefighters work on a variety of emergencies, from chemical spills to water rescue. 

Singapore Civil Defence Force
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) is a uniformed organisation under the purview of the Ministry of Home Affairs. The main role of SCDF is to provide fire-fighting, rescue and emergency medical services; mitigating hazardous materials incidents, as well as formulate, implement and enforce regulations on fire safety and civil defence shelter matters. [More]

Additional info
- Singapore Global Firefighter & Paramedics Challenge

Disclaimer: The guest may refuse to answer any questions as he deems fit.

when people say "it's lit," do u think of something dank or a fire first

Whats the hardest part about being a firefighter?

Dear Mr Firefighter,

1) I admire what you're doing for the country! Also, I believe you watch a popular TV series - Chicago Fire (I may or may not be the one who made you a Chicago addict ;)).

How real / different / similar is the show to your real life duties? Did you spot any mistakes in the show, and what are some of the giggles you get while watching?

2) Are firefighters also automatically EMTs/paramedics? And would you ever consider being a paramedic? Why and why not?

Thanks!!!

CC: Concussions Kingdoms

Being a firefighter in Singapore, how's your salary? JK 
REAL QN: 
What are some heartwarming/hurtful comments that you have seen/heard before when you're on duty?

1) As in the UK, we receive many hoax calls, do you (SCDF) receive many hoax calls?

2) Do you work with other departments such as Police & Paramedics in unison like here within the UK? We have multiple training days where all of our emergency services work together (Police, Fire, Ambulance, Mountain Rescue, Coast Guard & Lifeboats).

When did you decide you wanted to be a fire fighter?

Dear Bae, Ethan

Yes I assume its dank, take off my mask and inhale some. Then I resume with operations to put out the fire. We call it a "Lit Situation",  Only seniors are allow to attend to such cases.    

Jokes aside, cigarette buds and undone roaches can lead to a large fire.

 


Dear Jas,  Jas

I wouldn't know where to begin about the hardest thing. However, to some it can be either the physical/mental aspect of the job or perhaps the long working shifts. For me, the toughest thing is the strength to remind myself to stay recollected after an incident. Regardless of what we see on the fireground/rescue incident, we have to return back to base as though nothing happened. 



Dear Jason, Funkyhabbo

1) Thank you so much, you are one the coolest. Just quit calling me boy. Its equal to calling someone a candidate. 

To start off, this is only from what I've learnt and experience. Which is not that much compared to my seniors, teachers and instructors, not forgetting the thousands and thousands of ex-firemen who have gone through more and worse. I will only share what I know. Forgive me if I am wrong.

Firefighting has multiple strategies and methods of extinguishing the fire. To most, water is the only thing needed but thats not true. There are multiple classes of fire, defined by the fuel. There is such thing as a Triangle of fire.    
Basically the only changing variable is the Fuel. It could be, liquid,metal,gases and combustible materials. In rare cases, "others".  You know you can't use water when the fire has some flame color other than orange.

Moving on, comparing Singapore to other fire departments around the world. Every firehouse may adopt a different technique or even culture to its station on how they approach any fire. However thats too much to get into detail. I'll focus on what I go through and the famous TV show, Chicago Fire.  

Over here we do Defensive or Offensive firefighting. We focus on our safety first before we proceed into any incident because we believe the only way we can help others is by helping ourselves. I do not entirely believe in this but in regimental life, orders are orders. We only proceed inside to do snatch rescue behind a charged Water Nozzle. (That is our weapon).  Unlike the TV Show where they rush in for the given timeframe to snatch rescue as many as possible. It increases your chances of saving lives but at a very high risk factor.  

There is a nozzle man & forcible entry man. Fire squads include 4 man to make a section. Including 2 section commanders and 2 fireman. Incase ever a need to split up, we stay in pairs, 1 of each. A section commander has a orange bunker gear lining and a fireman has yellow bunker gear lining both wearing the orange helmet.. This applies to the firehouses in Singapore. If you are a section commander with a white helmet (Only awarded to 1 per rota, you are a Deputy Rota Commander).  Yellow bunker gear & white helmet is your Rota Commander. (lieutenant or chief in chicago fire). Unlike chicago fire, they all wear the same bunker gear but the chief or lieutenant has a different helmet to indicate their ranks.

Other than the strategy and differences in equipment and certain firehouse cultures, that is the only major difference I realized is the fact that Firemen are called Truck personnel and they rescue specialist are called Squad personnel. In Singapore we are just Fireside (Firemen) and DART (Disaster and Rescue Team) = Squad. Our Squad is stationed at Paya Lebar and attends to the rarest cases.

Like the show, we all attend to rescue incidents as well. One thing that the show excludes is the fact there are some firehouses that have Hazmat trained specialists. I am blessed to come from one of the few Hazmat stations in Singapore. These stations have been strategically located in our cargo route for such vehicles carrying these Hazmat things. These incidents require special attention and 100% focus as sometimes when it is on fire, water will not only help enrage the fire but affect the efficiency of our operation. At times these leaks also require special suits as they could be chemical agents, biological agents and even radiation. That is why specialists are required, with their special appliances. So keep in mind, not all fires require water to extinguish it. It could need Foam or dry powder. I will share more in an article maybe that could include some fire safety things.

Hazmat = Hazardous Materials. 

Another difference is we do not do any Animal Rescue in Singapore.

Now, for the giggles. 

They lieutenants are all looked upon as sexual beasts with mad amount of chicks and super loads of women drooling over them. That is not true, we all get the same amount of love from everyone. 

In the TV show, the candidate cooks and handles the lunch/dinner for all. This used to be practice many years ago but now they just assign the new boys to go out and buy food. Its funny because i had to buy food for my whole station during my first few months after being posted. It was quite a challenge to carry 20-30 meals in a backpack including drinks/desserts. I was also incharge of returning everyones change. Not only did I have to do it alone but some seniors have specific things they want that can be a hassle.

Yes, everyone goes through the same treatment during their first few months whenever posted. Its just a culture and method of teaching that goes on in almost any firehouse around the world. Just minor differences.

2)  I have thought of it but no, my stomach is not strong enough and I'm not willing to see the things paramedics have seen. The ambulance often reeks when I pass by it in station. They often air it out after certain calls. I think that comes with alot of experience and passion to save lives to kinda forgo the smell.

I am satisfied, just fighting fire and saving lives other ways. In singapore you can be a fireman and also a trained EMT/paramedic. They can shift you around truck or alpha(ambulance). All fireman who are not EMT/paramedic trained are at least Basic First Aid Trained and can attend to incidents with some knowledge of CPR/AED and also uses of bandages, etc. 

We also had hybrids such as Fire Bikes. I'm not talking about ghost rider.


On the left is one of my Seniors. xD This is the older generation firebikes that come equipped with extinguishers and firefighting equipment. The new one requires a section commander fireman that has been EMT trained to man the bike. So they could attend to both assist in Fire Incidents or Medical Calls. 



Hope I answered anything. Feel free to ask in-depth.

Give me some time to attend to the rest. I actually have alot more to mention to some of these questions. So stay subscribed to the thread. Some of your wonders may be answered in other's questions.

I heard the firebikes have a kind of water bomb - so they can make it explode in a burning fire or something. Is this true?