American Firefighter Reacts to Singapore Firefighting

[@tendoumk]

Fire stations in Singapore have decommisioned the use of sliding poles due to injuries across the country. However, usage of slides are being implemented in the newer stations in stead of sliding pole so we can get to our turn out vehicle easier if we were on the 2nd floor. I was from a fire station with a slide and even though it is not as cool as sliding pole I think is actually really fun to just slide down to your vehicle 😅🤣

[@killerhawk2000]

I know the exact incident that broke the camel back that got the fire pole ban it happen in sengkang firestation it was an AA that use without authority and bash his head onto the floor and literally become a vegetable. I was the NCO at the division.

[@sydznl]

@@killerhawk2000 whats an AA

[@killerhawk2000]

@@sydznl it is Paramedic helper in Singapore we call them Ambulance Attendant. There normally a 3 men crew in an ambulance here in Singapore a paramedic, an ambulance attendant and a driver

[@morganfreeman6305]

Realy

[@killerhawk2000]

@@morganfreeman6305 yup

[@6975allow]

I am in Singapore and witnessed a rescue operation in the middle of the night without creating any commotion to the neighborhood. I could hardly heard any noise at all, I just happened to look out my window and saw a fire engine in the carpark. I believe a lot of training have been put in to carry out operations with least disruption to the surrounding.

[@superrswalkthrougn]

Hi, was a Singaporean firefighter so I can give you some context for this. This is a standard for rescue calls involving suicidal people who are threatening to jump. We try to be as quiet as possible, try to set up our lifepack (that big inflatable bouncy platform) as silently as possible, and just try to minimise the chance of the potential jumper knowing we're there and getting spooked into doing something rash.

[@nougat6636]

SAME LOL it was the middle of day and we never realised they were out and had set up some thing that they use to catch people

[@nicisdebest]

Yeah in addition to what@@superrswalkthrougn had to say.. Singaporeans can also be quite vocal in their complaints about noise pollution when it comes to using sirens of rescue vehicles... so they are mandated to reduce usage/not use sirens when near residential area if not needed to, especially during night time..

[@fahimmuhtadi8896]

What kind of rescue was it

[@noahway13]

Just the opposite where I am in Va Beach. They ride around like 10 year olds with lights, sirens, horns,--- responding to a sprained ankle.And I am an ex-first responder, ex-cop.

[@nicolewong3687]

I live in the building across this station so it’s fascinating to see what life is like on the other side of the road

[@alexsolosm]

Singapore does a lot of training. Despite Singapore being the top 3 cities in the world in terms of population density, the SCDF only had one fireman who lost his life in action since founding till date. Goes to show how much the consistent enforcement and training does for the survival rate of the firefighters.

[@Lavabird827]

RIP Sergeant (1) Edward H Go. You will be missed

[@Bellicose]

While I'm proud of Singapore's crowning achievements, this is pure misconception. Population density ≠ Danger. The fires faced by SCDF while dangerous, is generally much safer compared to fires overseas. This is mainly thanks to government's stringent safety regulations when it comes to building codes, especially for factories/companies dealing with dangerous, toxic and/or flammable materials. There's also the fact that SCDF don't have to fight bush/mountain fires, this is where mortality rate is the highest for firefighters across the globe. Let's take Hong Kong for example, their mortality rate is pretty high for building fires because many of their buildings are either too old for safety upgrades, or owners illegally add/partition rooms to expand, which ends up being safety hazards. Some even use illegal expanded rooms to store flammable materials. Take Amoycan Industrial Centre fire from 2016 for example, the building is so old, it was legally exempted from adding a water sprinkler system. It also had lots of illegally partition rooms sectioned from a large room, rented by a storage solutions company. Singapore would have condemned fined the owners, maybe even haul them to jail. Even before all that, they would have condemned the building and tore it down. 2 firefighters died during this fire, the building had multiple explosions due to hazardous materials catching fire. The fire went on to burn for a total of **108 hours**. Building almost collapsed at one point as well as large cracks emerged throughout the building's wall There's also the yearly mountain fires beginning in June/July due to summer heat or careless campers, many firefighters end up suddenly surrounded in flames if they extinguish the flames without a specific pattern. This high mortality rate fire also claim lots of firefighters in Japan, Malaysia, US, UK, Australia etc. That's one high mortality fire SCDF don't have to worry about much. The last forest fire they responded to was the one where a thunder blew up a tree and set fire to the surroundings, which itself was extinguished by the following rain before SCDF even arrived.

[@alexsolosm]

@@Bellicose population density has direct correlation to infrastructure development. The higher the population, the greater the number of buildings and hence the higher risks for building fires. But I agree Singapore don't have to deal with large scale forest fires (btw, small forest fires are still very frequent in Singapore during the dry seasons, but they are usually quickly put out), so no comparison there.

[@kays3956]

​@Bellicose well said, i ahree with you all the way. the correlation has yet to be established especially with other factors not being constant

[@Albert_Einstein_not]

Many overseas viewers probably are not aware that a large proportion of our firefighters in SCDF (Singapore Civil Defence Force) are on not professional firefighters. 70-80% are conscripted for 2 years as part of the mandatory 2 years National Service for all Singaporean males. Some serve these 2 years in the armed forces or police force. The focus is on prevention and preparedness and heaven forbid, should an armed conflict ever breakout, SCDF also has a war-time role.

[@cherylm2C6671]

Thank you for your comment.

[@Anolbea]

I was very impressed with the sense of order I witnessed in Singapore. Very safe and friendly. The food variety and quality was out of this world. A well ordered society. We could all learn a lot.

[@whyalwaysme1106]

Food variety? Lose to malaysia

[@Skarletking747]

@@whyalwaysme1106 we have 3 more cuisines then u get balled on

[@blueboybobbiej]

Very ordered? I'm guessing you have never driven there. One of the biggest issues in the country is that no one moves out of the way of emergency vehicles. I witnessed a car accident where a guy was trapped in the vehicle and bleeding, took the emergency services over 25 minutes to arrive.

[@jonathanlee5520]

@@blueboybobbiej MOST moved out of the way U monitoring it FULL TIME *?* 😅

[@amark4663]

@@blueboybobbiej that's not a big issue bro coming from a singaporean

[@notCheckerz]

I was a firefighter during my NS in singapore. We had to do ‘baris’ or drills every rota shift (Chemical Attacks, Basic task manuals and scenario drills). I am extremely grateful for the lucky opportunity( thinking i would be drafted into army instead) and have even more respect for life-savers now. The physical and mental fortitude of firefighters are astounding.

[@Dragonblazered990]

Nice ns fire fighter

[@Saicofake]

As someone who in the SAF, I strongly feel that SCDF dont get as much recognition as SAF personnel.

[@jatdayak998]

PL 111 Rota 1 ...

[@LunaWingz]

Elevators break all the time in US... Not so much in Singapore because they have a lot of maintenance and a lot more care, and a lot more of regulations in elevator maintenance. Mostly because Singapore uses a lot more elevators due to our taller buildings vs US who have shorter buildings on avg. Unless you're in an old estate (where the elevators have not been overhauled) or a private building where they use third-party elevator maintenance companies, the elevator isn't likely to break down as often as you're thinking.

[@oscarosullivan4513]

Lifts here are well maintained and have a bell system for if you get trapped if if it breaks down

[@choonkeonglim6178]

@@oscarosullivan4513 my flat in Singapore has a bell system and a speaker that is connected to the ems. In the event that the elevator was spoiled, we can speak directly to the ems.

[@oscarosullivan4513]

@@choonkeonglim6178 Thanks for the info

[@kimbkiat]

Lift will home to ground level in case of breakdown

[@lzh4950]

Public housing (home to ~85% of the population) in Singapore use lifts that have only an emergency bell but no intercom IIRC, since to reduce costs they're only remotely monitored without any on-site Fire Command Centre connected to the lifts. So the lifts are built to be more fail-soft e.g. if it malfunctions it's programmed to auto travel to the nearest floor, while express lifts still have doors & floor landings on some skipped floors so that they don't have to auto-travel too far to a nearest floor before passengers inside can evacuate. Saw online too that some one managed to exploit a loophole in some express lifts made by Mitsubishi Electric by cancelling all selected floors when the lift was halfway in motion normally, which according to its logic prompted it to stop at the nearest floor with a landing & doors, even if it's a floor that usually skipped except when the lift malfunctions & has to auto travel

[@ViktorZuess]

Lift breakdown is a rare occurrence in Singapore. Chances of getting injured using the bar slides is much higher than getting stuck in the lift.

[@MichellLoh]

Lol and if they stuck in the lifts, they are in the fire station, they can ask their colleague to save them HAHAHAHA😂🤣

[@octville]

I am extremely proud and grateful to our firefighters. Many of them are serving as full time national servicemen. It is not their profession.

[@thewaterbearer16]

Because the Alexandra Fire Station is a 7-storey building and therefore lift/elevator is needed. It share its space with the 1st SCDF (Operational) Division HQ, which house DART teams and Special Rescue Units (SRUs) for national emergencies such as building collapses, mass casualty events which may include terrorism attacks. As such, the same building complex also houses a police station.

[@ultrasx1147]

Firemen bunk not at 2nd storey ah? If lift halfway breakdown during call-out how..

[@thewaterbearer16]

@@ultrasx1147 they asking why there is a lift/elevator. Based on height of the fire truck garage that is at least 2 storeys. So, the active firemen quarters should be at least on the 3rd storey I presume.

[@krazikatladi3729]

Whoah. Passed by many times but i didn't know that it houses so many things. Hahahah! Good to know.

[@oscarosullivan4513]

We no longer have multi storey stations

[@diablo15ish]

DART is only at Kallang and Paya Lebar

[@caijunlong1006]

This is a very unique fire station. It's quite a large building. In land scarce Singapore, the fire station, EMS & police station are all housed & operate from one building.

[@ziyuansim5090]

10:55 its just for the video, they used to slide down poles, but it was cancelled due to safety concerns. Now they run the stairs, the latest fire station has a slide. Also, 3 Queensway is actually the address for that station, its allllll for the video :")

[@PrograError]

tbh the OG video is published by the agency... not a vlog by a YTer firefighter...

[@ziyuansim5090]

@@PrograError Yea i know that. It's on SCDF's official youtube channel

[@Gehslol]

this elucidated alot LOL. I was thinking stairs more normal also hahahaha. AND LOL AT 3 QUEENSWAY being the address of the firestation HAHAHAHA. funny leh.

[@oscarosullivan4513]

Dart like the train

[@patrickconfer3592]

I was in the military for 25 years and got to see a lot of different countries fire departments. I’ve noticed a lot of the Asian countries tend to have aspects of military structure in them.

[@ericpeterson6822]

They are paramilitary

[@lzh4950]

Even the railways in Japan & Taiwan/ROC have some military-style regimentation in them too I remember e.g. train drivers have peak caps & stand at attention before receiving their timetables @ the start of their shifts

[@Banana-cc5rx]

We just lost a young man during his shift in the fire fighting department recently. The reason they do these seemingly "meaningless" trainings is because a lot of our forces have men who are just doing their mandatory 2 years service. Not everyone is going to commit to the job after or have sufficient experiences as compared to what we call "real professionals"

[@inceldetector6148]

thats why ns is just a waste of time. imagine dying in training instead of dying in a war. oh wait no need to imagine it happens all the time

[@jbrkjferkjbekjb]

what an insult to imply that the firefighter who lost his life was not "committed".

[@Banana-cc5rx]

@@jbrkjferkjbekjb nice cherry picking. Maybe go pick them from the next tree

[@jbrkjferkjbekjb]

@@Banana-cc5rx that's literally the substance of what you're saying lol. mind you anyone involved in FF operations is trained, not "inexperienced" or "uncommitted".

[@Banana-cc5rx]

@@jbrkjferkjbekjb think you clearly don't get the point of my original message at all. That entire message context was a reply to what the video was questioning about. Also did I say all of them are not committed? Pretty sure I included "inexperienced" as well, especially when you are just serving your 2years with a good half portion being non FF related training. You really think that amount of time is sufficient? Stop kidding yourself when majority of our death cases with youth serving the nation is due to negligence and inexperiences Go bark up another tree

[@lawrenceho6911]

We tabao(takeout) our food most of the time while at work. There are tons of people selling food in Singapore and their shops/stalls are usually within 5-15mins of the residential area. And Alexandra Fire Station happened to be near residential area. And many kinds of foods sold in the Hawker Centers. So take outs are way faster and more economical than cooking dinner ourselves.

[@jaysonlee8625]

Also lots of good food around Alexandra Fire Station all within 5 minutes walk.

[@raytham]

Thanks for making this video review of the firefighting services in Singapore. I really enjoyed your commentary. To give a little more context to what you saw in their video: 1) Most of Singapore's military and civil emergency services are manned by National Service (NS) personnel. The military for example has a regular core of about 70,000, but this swells to more than 400,000 in a matter of hours of mobilization fully equipped. As a small island of only 680 square kilometres and 5.5 million souls (Singapore is 170 times smaller than New York but includes each of the top 10 of the world's busiest and largest airports, container port, chem-oil refineries, and financial hubs), this constant state of readiness defines a lot about how its civil and military systems are set up and work. Thus in Singapore all males are conscripted for a period of 2 years (used to be longer) at the age of 18 before university (or later if they are taking a diploma or technical training degree), into the Armed Forces, Police, and Civil Defense (which covers the Fire Service, Ambulance Service, Disaster response, Marine Fire service among others). Hence why you saw a lot of drills and training in their video, it is not just some "scripted act" that they had to perform, but constant training due to the transient nature of the personnel. "Rookies" join in batches on a constant basis, typically twice a year. These National Service personnel are then 'graduated' into an operational status of 10 years or more where they may be required to serve up to 40 days a year in their respective vocations and units, before they are officially 'retired' to focus on family and careers. Individuals can choose to continue in a voluntary role till old age. Women are aplenty in these services too, but usually as career officers or volunteers. 2) To answer your question about education levels: Most conscripts at 18 have completed 12 years of schooling to the British GCSE A-levels ("High School" in the US, or Year 12 in many other countries). Those who chose the Polytechnic or technical education route would complete their studies a year later at 19 (3 year course as opposed to a 2 year A-level Junior College) and be conscripted. Women head straight into University (if they so choose) without conscription. Many also head overseas to the US, UK, Australia etc. for private university education. For males, overseas private university education can only be done after completion of national service. The officer you see in this video seems to have taken a government scholarship and thus obtained a "deferment" to start and finish University before continuing the rest of his conscript service and/or regular (career) service. They would usually complete (and be assessed on) their basic training before being allowed the deferment. They would also usually be a Lieutenant or Captain upon returning to the service with their degree, whereas conscripted national servicemen who become officers start off as 2nd Lieutenants. There are of course also all other ranks which are equally valued in the services and who perform other critical roles. Those who have yet to complete their academic studies are also given assistance to do so, sometimes during their national service itself (Decades ago I authorized two of my men who only had junior school education to do night classes in the army and they became graduate engineers later in life. Let's believe in our bros & sisters!). 3) Singapore is often said to be "boring" because of its low crime rate and low incident rate. All weapons and guns are illegal, but hardly missed since the conscripted males wouldn't want to clean their rifles ever again! Thus the single-apartment fire without casualties you saw would make national news for the day. So constant drills are a must to maintain readiness for the unexpected. We do get the occasional big oil refinery fire or building fire, but these occur about once a decade due to strict safety regulations and enforcement. Most buildings are concrete, metal & glass in Singapore, and commercial and industrial builds are required to have built-in sprinkler systems, so fire containment and extinguishing is intrinsic to the building code and design. They rarely spread. 4) This said (and touch wood!), the lack of major incidences can also be a downside to the depth of experience for these National Service persons. We admire the skills and tenacity of your Californian wildfire firefighters, those Down Under in Australia fighting bushfires or handling rural accidents, and the metro fire tackling the "Towering Inferno" in some countries. Technically our Fire Services are also trained (and we do have the occasional bushfire which we fight with firefighting tanks and aerial water bombardment), but we certainly do not encounter such incidences so often and at such intensity. It is a both a good and bad thing. But people rise up the the occasion and carry out their duties safely and successfully with good training. The Fire Service in Singapore has been deployed to earthquakes and other disasters around the world more than 16 times and performed admirably. 5) Equipment wise we are very well equipped, usually with the latest European equipment (there was a Fluke thermoscan and the latest SCANIA & MAN fire trucks in the clip), and we were also one of the first to deploy unmanned firefighting robots and water jets. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore_Civil_Defence_Force Nevertheless, I hope there can be more exchanges where we can learn from the US fire services too. High rise firefighting is a given in Singapore (there are 9000 high rise buildings on the island), and it is always good to learn what other equipment and techniques are used overseas. 6) I have no idea why they used the elevator too (they are called "lifts" in Singapore)... some fire stations have slides together with their staircases, I would prefer those! Hope this helps! Keep the great vids coming!

[@PrograError]

im guessing it's just slightly faster, plus stairs = tired just before what could be a huge fire...

[@lilsaint91]

Oi don't sabo us leh, tell everyone on the internet our unit strength wtf

[@SuccessforLifester]

@@lilsaint91 the strength information actually can be found in wiki too

[@gmr2gnr]

tl;dr

[@SpecJack15]

@@lilsaint91 That is publicly available info. Not classified info.

[@Zz5H]

Majority of SG firefighters are national servicemen , they are not there by choice, however they meet the standards required to perform their duties

[@holoqofholoqqia9503]

It is worth mentioning that not all firefighters over in SCDF are volunteers. A good majority are national service personnel or NSFs. However, these lucky guys, instead of going to the army, they come to the emergency services or the police force. The 12 RC did mention before becoming an officer he was a section commander during NS. After your national service you have a choice to sign on and that's what the officer in the video did although his way is a little longer winded. You do have to have a minimum education requirement.

[@livein54321]

i wonder why you mention that they are "lucky". are you implying that NSmen in SPF and SCDF somehow have it much easier than those in SAF?

[@holoqofholoqqia9503]

@@livein54321 I don't wanna say easier, let's say SCDF and SPF NSFs have it better. Let's be real honest here, it is a general consensus. Some people might prefer the SAF life but majority of boys our age in Singapore would probably just like to get the hell out of NS as soon as possible. I'm sure you agree at some level. Office hours or 24 hour shifts where you go out and buy better quality food of your choosing. And of course the fact that you have more opportunities to really put your training to good use, however take that with a grain of salt, God forbid Singapore gets caught up with the affairs of other nations in which our NSFs have to take part in. I don't want to make it seem like SAF is the bad way to go. There are people who like that life. But a consensus is still a consensus, I've talked to many people about the difference between Home Team and SAF. The home team NSFs are the lucky ones. Easier is subjective you're out there going out for real problems twice to four times a week, where people's lives are at stake and you have to save those lives, it is most definitely not that much easier. In the end well, NS is NS, you get assigned your poison and it's up to you to want to take it or not.

[@johnwig285]

@@livein54321 yes, for the majority in each force. SAF has the lowest pay. SAF has the hardest BMT. SAF full week stay in no such thing as book out after guard duty. So SPF and SCDF guys are lucky in that sense. Especially SPF. And SCDF u can transfer the skill to be a nurse or medic etc after ORD. SAF?

[@holoqofholoqqia9503]

@@johnwig285 To be fair, a few of SAF vocations can be transferred to the outside world. Vehicle maintenance, SAF medic, airforce probably, navy probably, engineer vocations. I feel like there are a lot of things you can take away from NS in SAF. But yeah, NS in home team is better no doubt. Higher pay, guaranteed insurance, job stability etc.

[@SuccessforLifester]

@@holoqofholoqqia9503 I agree with you. The general view is that going to SPF or SCDF is a better posting. Though I was trolled and attacked by one guy for stating such an opinion.

[@johnwig285]

There's a lot of training because they have to compact it not only within 2 years of National Service but within months of service for those who end up in Fire & Rescue

[@myotiswii]

In Singapore you generally wouldn't cook your lunch anyway, because nobody does, it is just as cheap and more tasty to buy it cooked.

[@poppajoebeneckesr7573]

WOW, hands down one of the most interesting "Day in the Life" videos I have ever seen on KZbin. While roll call is done in most if not all Fire Depts. this is the first I've seen in full turn out gear. Also found the equipment check out very different then here in the States. Tools and equipment checks are common and in most Departments mandatory, but the hose roll out and charging was the first I have ever seen as part of a shift check out (usually seen done once a month during a drill). This was an incredibly informative and interesting video. Thanks ......

[@poppajoebeneckesr7573]

P.S. The AFI was/is very common in my experience by both a Company as a whole and as an assigned Inspector for the very explanation you gave, to give the Company familiarity of a building.

[@johnwig285]

@@poppajoebeneckesr7573 The frequency of training and checks are due to them compacting everything within these firefighters' limited time of service as they are mostly conscripts serving 2 years.

[@poppajoebeneckesr7573]

@@johnwig285 I thought it was interesting and obviously productive, thanks for the explanation and reply

[@jaysonlee8625]

I think hose roll out is very common here, I saw them doing it when we were doing a photoshoot at some of our firestations too.

[@amelintng8938]

Cool,,, from one fire fighter to another,,, recently we lost our first firefighter in operation,, indeed a very sad sad incident,,,some people wrote in very nasty comments doubting the abilities and capabilities of our SCDF,,,, seriously,,, these men and women faces real life and death situation every day,,,so let's show them and their families respect that they truly deserves,,,any incident that involves life lost is one too many,,,,in such time hopefully we can rally around the surviving team and family members for some moral support,,,btw I am not in anyway affiliated with SCDF,,,, just a normal citizen who like to show my respect to these daily heroes

[@isky92]

Traditionally, we utilised sliding poles to slide down, for instance, from the third or second floor to the ground floor, to get onboard our respective appliances. Unfortunately, headquarters may have implemented strict guidelines due to safety issues from past incidents. Safety is, needless to say, of utmost priority for any emergency response department, be it for their personnel or members of the public. Moreover, it’s the standardisation to put on full gear during shift roll call for every fire station in Singapore. Regardless, I am glad that you covered a review about the fire service in Singapore!

[@Thatweirduncle]

Well, that is also a point. Stations there can be multiple stories. Stations here rarely reach over 2 stories unless it’s in a large city center or is just one attached to headquarters, but normally the upper floors arnt used for regular fire duty, and are just offices. You may see a lot of older stations in NY be 3 or so, but that’s normally because they are pretty small, so the entire first floor may be dedicated to just apparatus and maybe something like the kitchen. It seems other countries put a larger emphasis on offices and larger crews, but that’s also because here you may have stations with one or two trucks and small crew, where as in Europe it could be dozens of vehicles all stationed at once. An elevator may work for a massive station with dozens of men, but I do understand what he’s saying when he says it’s kind of strange to use a elevator, when there are alternatives like slides.

[@kel3100]

Yes, the sliding pole has been banned due to a few incidents throughout the force where personnels have gotten injured. For our station, which is the one in the video, it has 7 levels as it is a division HQ. As for morning drills, we do have equipment drills , hazmat drills and checking of operational equipments. The morning drill that we did the morning we ended duty was actually a scenario based drill. Hope that clears up some questions

[@RespectableRSYt]

I've seen some departments use slides instead of poles to try to mitigate injury risk.

[@lzh4950]

@@kel3100 The building has to house a police station too I think

[@MadnessQuotient]

of note, the building that they did their "Enforcement and Ops Survey" on: That building is their fire station. 3 Queensway *is* the Alexandra Fire Station. It is also a very large multi-storey building that functions as a HQ not just a fire house, hence the lift. One thing that is quite different and surprising about how the SCDF functions with their appliances and ambulances is that even responding with lights and sirens, you will often see them waiting in traffic and at traffic lights. (I have seen them cut through traffic but is it so much more rare that it stood out as a foreigner.

[@NEAAFFAIRS]

Male Singaporeans are conscripted. We serve full time for 2 years after high school. And 10 cycles about 10 years in the reserve. For example. I'm served in the army and serve up to 2 weeks per year for 10 years. Take away lunch is cheap USD4 gets you filled and taste good .

[@nalanat]

Yeah, male Singaporeans are conscripted into the armed forces, police force or civil defence force. 🤗

[@cheriebrooks3565]

My father served in the civil defence force during WW2. Then, firefighters live with their families in quarters provided nearby/within the station ground. I remember him explaining lots of firefighting stuff to us, sliding pole being one of the required skill. Still have his many photos from those days.

[@erichuhn280]

Actually, the US fire service is unique in that they DON'T treat their turnout gear as part of their uniform. Take a look at the London Fire Brigade too. Even just looking at their social media they are almost NEVER in station wear for any event. We're so deeply rooted in our traditions that we don't realize that WE'RE the oddballs. Also absent from this video were guys on the couch playing Call Of Duty, haha.

[@Leland1410]

I may be wrong because I have never wore out of US PPE but I think that there gear is a lot more lightweight then what we wear, and we wear are gear only when we have to because we want to make them last longer.

[@erichuhn280]

@@Leland1410 ya know, I've thought about that. EN 469 is the European standard comparable to our NFPA 1971. NFPA 1971 does require a higher thermal protection than EN 469 (500F vs. 355F). I'd be curious to know how each organization landed on their numbers and how much of a difference it makes.

[@Leland1410]

@@erichuhn280 that would be cool to know

[@johnwig285]

It may be a great idea to actually get recruits and newbies to wear turnout gear as part of their uniform. This is to get them used to the whole rush and IQ drop once u out ur gear on 😂

[@oscarosullivan4513]

America still uses F degrees

[@Gtjxx]

This brings back good memory. I thoroughly enjoyed my National Service serving in Central Fire Station, SCDF.

[@lock90]

Take note some of these guys are actually conscript firefighters as well(as he mentioned he did his NS, where by every male Singaporean upon reaching the age of 18 would need to go thru). Also yes, roll call in full bunker gear, kinda sucks depending on the weather but yes it is what it is :) Cool video tho. Cheers from an from an NS firefighter / Current SCDF Volunteer Firefighter.

[@oscarosullivan4513]

Where does the roll call thing come from

[@lock90]

@@oscarosullivan4513 From my understanding, its a formality which was passed down from generations back.

[@oscarosullivan4513]

@@lock90 Its likely a thing thats from the UK

[@fahimmuhtadi8896]

Which station u at

[@12thlane59]

It’s cheaper to buy food in Singapore, a lot of people don’t cook there. The food you can buy from food court is delicious and diverse.

[@limchyehock6722]

You can have different lunch or dinner everyday for 30 days if not more without repeating. you can have so many variety and versions of Chinese, so many variety of Malay, various variety of Indian food. Rice with all kinds of side dishes, many versions of noodles, buns, naan, prata ...at reasonable and affordable prices and even "fast food" like McD, KFC, Subway etc...etc... depending on your mood and yearnings.

[@nicisdebest]

16:29 here the officer uses the code PL121. The code has an interesting system. During shifts the officers are assigned a code pertaining to the vehicle that they may be using that day. Here "PL" or Pump-Ladder (aka fire truck) referring to the type of vehicle, and looking at the code 121, the first two digits referring to the particular SCDF division and station the user belongs to and the last digit refers to which vehicle is making the report. (As there can be multiple vehicles of the same type operating any given day) So PL121 is basically: [PL] pump-ladder (vehicle), [1] Div 1, [2](Alexandra station), [1] vehicle no. 1 In contrast A152 would mean: [A] alpha or Ambulance (vehicle), [1] Div 1, [5] (Bishan station), [2] vehicle no.2

[@Painguin9]

Shoutout to all the enciks in alex

[@syahid29]

Shoutout to Bishan EMT

[@milksomecows]

You might think that view from the gym is a hotel standard view. But in Singapore it isn't. It's a Singapore standard view. We have trees everywhere. Finding a view like this, is not hard at all.

[@lzh4950]

Singapore cleared quite a lot of forests when it was growing in the last 3rd of the 20th century, by replacing its outlying villages with larger suburbs, so probably to make up for that it planted more trees along its roads. Can be quite a big task maintaining the trees I imagine e.g. they're pruned every few months, otherwise they sometime get too big & they topple or their branches break off. Roads have sometimes been blocked & motorists fatally crushed in their vehicles as a result

[@jaysonlee8625]

@@lzh4950 You are correct on both counts. Sadly due to the lack of land, we are clearing even more forested areas.

[@matthewlee7405]

To be fair, the gym window looks out to a pretty wide road & an older (shorter) HDB estate on a low hill. So it actually looks more open, & similar to a view you get at a good hotel in Singapore.

[@brofessormex]

That's a beautiful station. Way nicer than anywhere I've worked. And I visit fire departments all over latin America.

[@danielpang9358]

Singapore elevators do have inspections and do not breakdown normally.

[@crowdemon_archives]

Yea, when you see a lift not in operation, chances are it's a maintenance or an inspection.

[@abelardoramirez3962]

Do a medical stretcher fits in there?.. here in MX is becoming a big issue in tall buildings, as an structural engineer assigned to a USAR unit this is one of the big issues we have on elevators

[@rowdyg7312]

In South America lots of volunteer departments have AMAZING stations. I know someone in a station with a game room, a pool, a little lounge, and even dormitories.

[@longangrysausage3495]

Wowwww that sounds really nice

[@norisahyussup3850]

Sounds great to have such facilities . ...it takes away mental fatique

[@vieworama8188]

Elevators get maintained all the time. In my 35 years in sg, I have experienced 0 elevator breakdown, yet I have won small consolation prizes from the lottery.

[@emogalgal7112]

I have a relative that used to work in the fire dept, and from her experience she told me that working at a dangerous area is actually much more relaxed as the safety uphold is more strict. And we have 1 fire station to 1 area except for Jurong Island where we have 2 if im not wrong. But of course the company itself will have their own fire technicians so that they can contain the fire till the firefighters arrive onto site. The most common fires over here in singapore are house fires and vehicle fires then we are the rare once in a blue moon industrial fires and then the most recent fire was the 2 vessels that collided into each other which if im not wrong killed one of our firefighters. Edit: I used to work in Jurong Island at a petrochemical company and they do teach the technicians here how to fight a fire before the fire tech comes down to take over followed by the firefighters.

[@burstmustakim_official]

11:01 Our Singapore elevator was very good as they have weekly maintenance on the night time.

[@mysterymayhem7020]

I don't think anyone here who has worked as a first responder was surprised when a call came right before dinner.

[@lsvop]

Haha....I did an ambulance attachment with SCDF once. The call came just before shift change.

[@PrograError]

@@lsvop so... who gone? the A shift or the B shift?

[@lsvop]

@@PrograError A shift, ie me who thought I'll be leaving in half an hour.

[@PrograError]

@@lsvop deep [ F ]

[@Blablablarandomguy]

I served my 2 years at this exact fire station in the video. Most of the firefighters are conscripts like me. Only the higher ranks are full time. The rest receive training and do their job for 2 years. The guy in the video completed his education and decided to sign on full time it looks like.

[@alansohn855]

At 17:18 I believe that was more of a hazmat scenario if they were spraying water at the firefighter since that specific Lieutenant is a hazmat specialist and you can tell since he has hazmat patches on his buttoned shirt.

[@nothanks5630]

4:46 Alot of Fire Services fall in at the start of the watch in full Turnout, it happens all over the UK and Ireland.

[@oscarosullivan4513]

They definitely got that off the British empire

[@CmDrRaBb]

I reckon we might have been influenced by the british

[@xfirefox_x]

@@CmDrRaBb Yup, our uniformed services, to a certain extent, get influences from the British.

[@anthonylee9230]

So basically in order for what he meant was that, to become an officer or some position of an commander and above, a person have to have at least a degree if one wishes to push further. Or else you're a typically a man(or low ranking personal)

[@YamamotoTenma]

"i have never heard of any department that wakes up for training 2 hours before end of shift" now you have :D

[@Leland1410]

14:02 The channel is called Heroes Next Door

[@jcm028]

Fire station cribs is a good watch. Our new station 1 opens in a month, wonder if I could get him to come to Minnesota...

[@nixxykaylock7054]

I'm subscribed to heroes next door

[@Thejermtan]

The guy has 2 years of mandatory firefighting exp before he got all this education. Singapore is really small so unless u want to have a pole that stretches all the way to the 8 floors for some fire houses. All the fire station are the same in singapore.

[@PrograError]

I think to 2nd floor is enough no need up to heavens... plus you are bound to butt to head collision someone if the pole is that tall...

[@leslieho8377]

Haha Singapore is land scarce henceforth our stations are mostly high rised but our elevators hardly breaks down due to regular maintenance

[@Proskater134]

Here in Norway we also have fire inspections in private homes. Very good for safety for your family and neighbours.

[@oscarosullivan4513]

Non residential buildings must be certified safe by a fire officer

[@lzh4950]

Singapore was also recently considering mandating sprinklers in homes. & ~15 years back shops directly below apartment houses were also banned from leaving their merchandise on display immediately outside their storefronts when they're closed for the day, after some residents in the apartments above were killed when the merchandise caught fire that then spread upwards to the apartments

[@benbernanke]

I’m not a firefighter but this is interesting. I can only comment about the lunch. His lunch would cost less than USD 5.00 so it’s often more economical and time saving getting our meals from hawkers than whipping up a meal.

[@matthewlee7405]

Not to mention, the places to buy food are usually 5- to 10-min walking distance in Singapore.

[@kokliangchew3609]

As a father whose son served in the Singapore Civil Defense Force (Firefighters and Paramedics) during his national service, I can say that they do train a lot. Like other Singaporeans undergoing their national service, they all start of with the basic core of 3 months' Basic Military Training (BMT). After completion of that, those selected for the fire service complete a 6 months' firefighting course which is of diploma level and is recognised worldwide. In fact, during my son's training, his colleagues besides other Singaporean NS, included serving firefighters from the Middle East and Asian countries. It seems that Singapore's firefighting course is well recognised for its modern fire-fiighting standards, and that many serving firefighters from overseas attend to find out about the latest techniques and equipment. The core of Singapore's firefighting services is a group of regular firemen and officers who besides their regular duties, help train and supervise the majority which are mainly NS personnel. As for the training, it is very rigorous and I was actually surprised to find out that it was more rigorous than the BMT that they had done earlier.

[@jesseday4966]

Hey, man. Like what you're doing here. I'll be using your breakdowns and original videos you use in our training classes. Take care, from Wilmer, Alabama Fire Rescue

[@LowCrimeDoesntMeanNoCrime]

For the roll call part is because scdf is considered something similar to military. So our singapore police force n civil defence force is one of the 'mi,itary' that our boys hv to serve 2yrs in too..

[@rawactivityofficial]

I Was From a legend Singapore Bukit Timah Fire Station. During that time my station mentor was Staff Sargent Ivan Holmberg. & Before Graduate As A Fire Fighters was Trained By The Legends, Both Are Devil Fire Instructors Encik Agayle & Encik Zainal Botak! ,At Hougang Camp & Mandai Training. Without Them I Can Never Experience Becoming A Hero! What I love most, is doing rescue experiencing suicide cases & road traffic accidents💪.

[@RandomPerson-gy7oe]

Pretty much all over Asia, most jobs require you to have completed a certain time of formal education. Most of us are expected to have a college degree when applying for a job.

[@lzh4950]

Singapore's gov't also intervenes quite a lot I think to stave off students from dropping out, with ~98% ending up with at least a diploma/GCE 'A' Level certificate (upon junior college/high school graduation)/vocational certificate (at our Institutes of Technical Education (ITE))

[@radicalxg8282]

I think the daily checks and drills are a common thing in Asia, i've seen a video of japanese firefighters and its pretty much like this

[@bigboydunkin]

at 1:30 to answer this question, training is always provided in the force as per every other force, but what is different here is that singapore's forces offer up college scholarships and university scholarships, paying the student and school fees for the applicant, and in turn just requires them to stay in the force for 3-5 years

[@jamierick9276]

@FirefighterNOW The role call is like in my country, the UK. We do role call, equipment checks, and usually weekly trainings/exercises.

[@wilhelmmarsch]

probably because singapore used to be under british rule.

[@foologic]

In Singapore, buying food is cheap, convenient and just as delicious as homecooking. :)

[@notCheckerz]

I recommend watch the singapore DART (disaster assistance and rescue team) selections. They are the elite team in SCDF

[@shaunsim3188]

Mostly it’s cheaper to buy ready cooked food, than cooking yourself in Singapore. Normally we have food centres within 10 to 15 mins walk. The planing is to have amenities like schools, transportation, banks, commercial, supermarkets,hairdressers, clinics within 15mins in the neighbourhood. Every building of certain size are to hire a fire safety officer part of building management, conducting drills yearly, there are yearly inspections for all buildings, public , private or government. In army camps as well. Lifts is Singapore seldom breakdown, commercial buildings required to have firemen lift, heavy fines for non maintenance of lifts, responsibilities are by building management.

[@mohdyaacob5088]

im a firefighter from singapore that was their division hq so they may not that much space or time to run down stairs but they have their lifts equipped with fire alarm priority. but for most other stations like mines we just run down the the stairs

[@Goodnightandgoodluck-c7m]

That fire station has been around since i was 5. I'm 52 now and i'm a serving Canadian police officer. Yupe long story, with some time spend in California too. Both Canadian and US Fire and policing are very similar. I've friends that did the Texas training and after completion transferred to a Fire department.

[@jaysonlee8625]

Not the same station, it was rebuilt some years back

[@lilkush7147]

You should do more reactions of foreign firefighters it would be really interesting especially if you check out the Australian firefighters(CFA) (Fire rescue: state name: ) and how they fight bushfires

[@raytham]

Australian Country Fire services are really impressive because they need to know how to handle catastrophic situations like bushfires and major vehicle & farming accidents with help hours out by air or road. Highly recommend to do a video on them!

[@ladyofhalos]

I found this video recommended on my Singapore home page. This sounds super fascinating, I’d totally watch a video about Australian firefighters. Their fires are no joke.

[@oscarosullivan4513]

Irish or british brigades

[@lzh4950]

Our local newspaper also interviewed a Singaporean studying around the Sydney area who volunteered to fight the bushfires near that area as well

[@red55chief]

He mentions at the beginning that he chose the fire service for his NS obligation. I assume that this means ‘National Service’, or obligatory civil or military service. This would account for the quasi military roll call. The British influence is still very evident. As well, it would be nice to hear a quick rundown on Singapore itself, i.e.: country, city size, number of stations, staff size, etc.,

[@mineis6inchlong673]

You do not choose your unit for National service. They assign you to your unit. You may choose only if you are a regular or intend to sign up as a regular. Dont get it mix up.

[@glenn.c]

Yeah, a rough estimate is that ~70% of NS conscripts get assigned to the military, whilst 15% each go to Civil Defence and the Police Force.

[@PrograError]

TBH to some extent it's all still interlinked between the military and civil departments. I'm pretty sure the radio (here called "matra set") is specially configured to "interlink" military side... tho they do use a different radio during civil events like national day, akin more like the normal civil radio sets...

[@SuccessforLifester]

@@mineis6inchlong673 Your tone is quite terse and angry. No need to get so riled up. The person is obviously not from Singapore.

[@RonLarhz]

You can google that probably.

[@Rose_Butterfly98]

Clementi fire station? That's really near my house. They have a staircase and the pole as well, lifts are just safer in general but if it does break down, they can use the other ways. Or at least they used to have poles, probably don't anymore because of injuries. I think they're getting slides now.

[@matthewlee7405]

Yes. Lifts in Singapore are supposed to meet very strict safety & operational standards. So it's as good a way to get down as any. I'd imagine they took the lift cos it happened to be on that floor, otherwise they'd head down the stairs (not sure if they have a slide there). It'd probably be as fast, if not faster than running down the stairs, without the potential of tripping, & thereby leaving your team potentially one man down if you get injured. Even for slides or poles, you need to take it one at a time, which adds up to about the same time as 4-6 ppl coming down together in a lift.

[@Rose_Butterfly98]

@@matthewlee7405 they probably program it so at least one lift will be at the floor.

[@prodog2355]

the entire island does roll call like this. a formal start to the shift

[@sabrecruz6721]

Thanks for sharing! Looking forward to more. From Singapore.

[@sustainablesolutions9152]

Roll call suited up is the brittish system. I don't know if the UK still does it, but back in the day that was the norm.

[@oscarosullivan4513]

Still happens from what I have seen in the comments section

[@loloqz]

Whats interesting to note is that a large number of our firefighters/rescue servicemen are conscripts. Yeap, Singaporeans are not only conscripted into the military, but the civil defence and police forces as well..

[@muhamadirfaan3329]

Fun fact some of our firefighter are also certified emt so they can go for the worst medical call and they usually go with us. For example if a turnout says "medical cardiac arrest p1+" calls, they will either request a firebiker emt, LFAV emt or Pump ladder emt alongside the ambulances. This is part of what we call HPCPR, high performace CPR. And yes im a medic here from scdf ❤

[@carlpasquali5914]

looks like they have a good system. I'm sure the fire service is well funded.

[@lpericteo]

Of course it's funded … by the citizens of Singapore 🇸🇬. They are part of out Total Defence Forces, the Army, Navy, Air Force and they are the Singapore Civil Defence Forces.

[@BillBlast7372]

16:20 **DID ANYONE ELSE NOTICE THIS???** early in the vid, he & the driver drove to 3 Queensway for inspections/etc & at the end they drove to a drill at 3 Queensway..... looking at the drill footage it looks like a fire station in the background, but that couldn't be correct bc of the insp earlier......well 3 Queensway is his fire station & local police dept. all in 1 bldg. IDK why he did it, maybe the dept only allowed it this way, but they never drove anywhere. Over all I liked his vid & have respect for him.

[@izecubez]

Pretty sure its more for the camera. I mean, if they did have to actually turn out, at least they're already in the compound, ready to go.

[@lsvop]

I checked the directory, 3 Queensway is the address of Alexander fire station.

[@BillBlast7372]

@@lsvop yup, it's fire & police dept. I looked at the internet & then went on Google maps, as well as street view, no matter what.....its kinda funny.

[@DonYang73]

Singapore is all about formal education, mate! 😄

[@doodoofard69]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I think Singapore may be one of the only countries that conscripts men into their emergency services through NS

[@alec4672]

I grew up with my father on the fire department in rural Wisconsin and they did hose checks every 6 months. I'm assuming cause our hoses ended up getting dragged through lots of farms and brush, I'm sure freezing conditions is a factor in it too.

[@TGGGlobalEmergencyResponses]

Cool video! I’m definitely a fan of international comparison stuff 👍🏼

[@LowCrimeDoesntMeanNoCrime]

U should also do your version of "a day in the life of a American firefighter" :)

[@oscarosullivan4513]

Getting stuck because of your helmet

[@stanboi3598]

nah...take too long. :)

[@black3175]

Well，It's freaking strange that you place a duty team above the ground floor and activate them with an elevator，all fire stations in Singapore are definitely huge enough，can't they just place them on the ground floor😃

[@raytham]

Land is a premium, prices go up to $1500 a square foot in some places, so public facilities are all stacked up. They are huge and have slides & ramps, so not sure why the elevator was used here...

[@PrograError]

@@raytham "comfort" and faster-ish...

[@EliminateSir]

@@raytham Funny enough who charges the land? I thought every land in Singapore is the property under Singapore Government? If SCDF is under MHA and MHA is under the Government, who pays who?

[@CmDrRaBb]

@@EliminateSir it's always left pocket to right pocket. Agency A pays costs etc to Agency B.

[@hollow34]

In the UK at least semi volunteer station we drill in full gear, it's inspection. Kit must be clean and presentable.

[@mohamadmansor2279]

Yes we always done full suit durin the roll call,

[@oscarosullivan4513]

Got that off the brits

[@brandilynn7509]

Left the coast guard in 2020, I’m just starting out in EMS, hoping to join the dive team and do more harbor patrol operations in my city!

[@Infantry2011]

Good luck!

[@brandilynn7509]

@@rover1683 the US has 95K miles of coastline, and only 56% of our population can swim adequately. That’s pretty good job security 😂😂😂

[@geauxinuee9524]

We need you here man. So you can learn much more about us .

[@mike_pertz]

I would love to come to Singapore! I’ve heard a lot of good things!

[@fouzanium]

@@mike_pertz you can actually visit every Saturday morning at most of our stations islandwide. There’s one station in the city with a heritage gallery you can visit almost everyday. You should definitely consider when you come for a holiday here.

[@htolas]

This station is newly built at the location of a much older station, and it covers the area where I live.

[@crystallake6198]

The Fire department in Dublin IE lines up every morning this. I've seen other across Europe do it as well.

[@omaverick2870]

Yup Japan too

[@oscarosullivan4513]

*Brigade

[@challengecoins4u]

Great video thanks.

[@DeadDrunk1]

Cool. I was posted to Alex Fire Station during my NS.

[@Unknown_Ooh]

My firehouse has an elevator but it's in our SOPs that we are not allowed to use it on call outs. We have a traditional pole for that.

[@DRFelGood]

First impression, professional appearance, Look Sharp, Be Sharp. I realize this maybe scripted, however, it could be interesting to have an international firefighter exchange program for 30 days. Just my opinion of course. 🚒 🚒 (Retired Career Firefighter Capt. 29 yrs) 💪

[@raytham]

Most welcome to once travel restrictions are lifted in this pandemic!

[@nothanks5630]

Saw it before in a documentary, a Sydney Firefighter swapped with a Liverpool Firefighter for a few weeks back in the 90s, got to learn skills that differ between UK and Australia.

[@oscarosullivan4513]

American and Irish/British brigade swap

[@davhooper1710]

What a shame. I've good conduct in National Service but only with a high school qualification in Singapore. I've expressed interest in joining SCDF for years and was rejected over and over again. I may not be capable in writing reports, but if you require a paper qualification to save lives, to fight the fire, I hope Singapore can re-look into their hiring process.

[@laserloverkid]

Go get some qualifications and reapply. SCDF receives tons of applications every year, it’s not as easy as saying that you want to be a firefighter and they’re going take you in. I personally know of former NSF SCDF personnels who have tried and failed to sign on due to the high demand for a very limited number of firefighting spots.

[@starshine9836]

Unfortunately, the paper qualification doesn't only show your literacy, it's a subtle sterotyped way to judge one's ability in cognitive ability, problem solving skills, analytical skills, logical and sequential thinking, discipline and responsibility, perseverance. The school system was set up in this way and sadly the ability are judged by the scores. Sg IQ is the highest in the world. That makes it even more competitive. How well one do in school could also show the person as a student if you are able to find ways to make yourself better. Literacy is basic skills and requirement from school. And if one can't meet the bare minimum, it doesn't only show that one did not do well in literacy, but might not be resourceful to improve, or are not hardworking (sorry. A very sterotype way of thinking = not do well =not hardworking enough for many parents (aka they are the bosses or employers in the market). Since being student is the only job and it wasn't done well (if one is fortunate to just have 'student' as their job. There are people with miserable background, tried their best and strive in their poor situation to meet the minimum/beyond basic requirements and complete school well). If it's not hardworking issue, then it's the cognitive ability to comprehend? Again, there are talents out there who has good IQ and shows soft skills and ability. Unfortunately the panel can't sit through all candidates and listen to their life stories. I do know some companies would like to see more of portfolio if their paper qualification doesn't meet requirement. Let's say if the candidate shows a high school qualification, but coupled with many other awards or portfolio to show his ability in achievements that show his cognitive ability or leadership skills, then might have a good chance, but it depends on which field that you are talking about. If there are 10 openings with 30 applicants, 20 if them already met the basic paper qualification, and from there they gotta cut 1/2 again. Which category where you at standing with the 29 other applicants? Not just this industry, but many other industries. Either level yourself up to meet the mark or find another job that doesn't require the specific qualification? If you really want it, you can do anything for it- that could be another portfolio on how you pesevered to achieve what you want. If you think it's not worth the fight, then look at your strength and see what fits and you could enjoy? I'm sure there are places or job that doesn't look at paper qualification. But paper qualification do give more options in general typical jobs that you are looking at. All the best in whatever you are doing!

[@hom3r]

Were you in scdf Fs during ns time? Normally it’s easy to sign on. Not sure for those who weren’t from scdf.

[@lzh4950]

Yeah heard Singapore's government emphasizes more on paper qualifications when recruiting & promoting staff, while private employers give greater consideration to work experience too

[@starshine9836]

@@lzh4950 when private comes becomes a bigger scale company, they likely might cut people off from their paper qualification.

[@me7690]

They do roll call in the UK like that.

[@Dankauff]

I really do like seeing how not only other departments but other countries operate. Because there are some cases where rolling out 200 feet of hose, having no kinks, and getting it deployed in less than a minute is helpful

[@hidd3nconqu3st13]

Awesome video too see. Hope to see many more like this.

[@raphaeltan5312]

The biggest factor of the SCDF is that the majority of personal are doing their 2 year National Service; after which they return back to Civilian life but do come back to serve a reservist training. Its practically the largest standby civilian force that has EMS and fire training that can support or assist in case official teams arrive just walking around the city.

[@khAirul-gUz]

Its funny now they use elevator. Back when im in NS,we always use sliding poles. That was back on 2006. On Saturdays if its our shift, we even open to public to show them around the station and show our way going down the sliding pole. ☺️ That's was my best time

[@Banana-cc5rx]

must be because some NSF slide and fall lol. Our forces have been changing to be more lenient and pampering nowadays due to so many accidents happening.

[@khAirul-gUz]

@@Banana-cc5rx my time is not the NSF🤣🤣 some stupid regular slide after rainy day plus carrying full bag of his PPE

[@julioguzman7347]

Here in california most fire deparmens require an emt or paramedic certificate to join, wildland certification from the usfs, blm or us parks, county fire deparments emt certificAte, city fire deparments along with fresno county, LA county, kern county, ventura county, orange and san diego counties they do require paramedic experiense

[@coover65]

In the world of developed countries that's quite unique to the US. In Australia at least a "paramedic certification" is a university degree in Paramedicine. Firefighters are trained in advanced first aid, but by law only paramedics can provide emergency ambulance services. I believe the UK, Ireland and New Zealand operate similarly.

[@SHADOW33613]

Tampa FD station 1 has elevators and poles and the have several station that have stairs and poles. Where possible they have went to one floor stations.

[@TearsPlays]

Singapore fire department is a lot more formal I feel. I think fire department is more of a governmental thing like police over there too

[@PrograError]

yup, both fire (SCDF) and police (SPF) departments are under the home team agency which in turn is under the ministry of home affairs and the minister of home affairs. the agency also manges several other agencies such as the immigration (ICA) and customs (Singapore Customs) as well as the prison and gambling control board

[@Lizaimi]

We dont really need poles when the firehouse usually is close to where the fires are. And they’re fast. Also quiet you dont even know they’re there

[@danielkohler3458]

Here in the US every agency except the fire department has embraced the advancements made in helmets. We use awkward uncomfortable entanglement prone plastic leather-look-a-like helmets with no built in comms or lights and a mask that you have to remove your helmet to put on, tighten, pull your flash hood over it and then redon that POS we put on our head. Why? Why Chief?