SINGAPORE – With seniors making up about 60 per cent of residents in Jalan Besar GRC, getting them to safety in a fire is a concern.
Addressing the concern, the Jalan Besar GRC Grassroots Organisations (GROs) has launched a new community volunteer initiative to help evacuate the elderly and vulnerable in the event of a fire in their home or block.
With the Jalan Besar Fire Safety Kakis, the GROs will have a network of neighbours who are able to keep an eye out for older residents and those with mobility issues.
The fire safety kakis are required to:
- Teach residents during house visits about fire prevention, how to use safety equipment and evacuation procedures
- Conduct regular fire safety checks in the neighbourhood and, as first responders, alert SCDF to potentially trapped residents
- Help with evacuation by maintaining a register of vulnerable residents for quick identification of missing persons, conducting headcounts, coordinating safe evacuations during emergencies and providing direct help when needed
There are currently four fire safety kakis. The GROs are hoping to recruit at least 80 for the whole GRC.
Mr Tan Soon How, 30, who is one of the four current fire safety kakis, said: “In the area where I live, there are lots of seniors, (some of whom) own a lot of appliances.”
The way they stack their belongings could make an emergency situation difficult, he noted. As a fire safety kaki, Mr Tan will talk to residents about the dangers of hoarding on his house visits.
To complement the fire safety kaki programme, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) also launched its Home Fire Safety Checker (HFSC) on March 1.
HFSC is an online digital assessment tool that the kakis can use to provide information to residents about potential fire hazards. It enables them to evaluate household safety measures and provides guidance on home fire protection.
The two initiatives were launched by the Jalan Besar GRC MPs Josephine Teo, Denise Phua, Heng Chee How and Wan Rizal Wan Zakariah at the area’s Community Resilience Day on March 1.
Mrs Teo, who is also the Digital Development and Information Minister, said: “These initiatives represent more than just fire safety measures – they embody the kampung spirit that makes our community special. With a high percentage of elderly residents, we are creating opportunities for neighbours to look out for one another, fostering a culture of care and vigilance.”
A carnival to get residents into the fire safety mindset was held at several locations near the Kallang Community Club and Boon Keng MRT station.
Activities included a mock fire drill, an enactment of a heart attack situation, lessons in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), free food and a lucky draw.
One is never to young to learn how to save lives. Lyron Wong, 2, going through the paces of CPR, while mum Lok Pei Shan, 38, looks on.ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
SCDF’s statistics show that firefighters responded to 1,990 fires in 2024 and 1,954 in 2023.
More fires were caused by active mobility devices (AMDs) in 2024, with 67 blazes involving AMDs, up 21.8 per cent from 55 such fires in 2023.
This was the second consecutive year that more AMD fires were reported.
AMDs include personal mobility devices (PMDs), power-assisted bicycles (PABs) and personal mobility aids (PMAs).
SCDF said AMD fires remain an area of concern, especially those that occur in homes. There were 44 AMD fires in homes in 2024, nine more than in 2023.
To put the message clearly across to the Jalan Besar residents, a fire-damaged PMD was displayed at the carnival to show what can happen.
There were 968 fires in homes in 2024, similar to the 970 in 2023.
Dr Wan Rizal, an MP for Jalan Besar GRC, taking part in the fire drill scenario, where he administered the practice Automated External Defibrillator (AED) on an actor pretending to have a “heart attack”.ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
Five people, among them seniors, died in fires in 2024, up from three in 2023.
In February 2024, two people died in fires in Housing Board flats – a 72-year-old man in Marsiling Road and an unidentified man in Canberra Crescent.
In May 2024, a man, 60, died in a fire at Lorong Limau in Whampoa, while another man, 44, died in a blaze outside a flat in Potong Pasir Avenue 1 in August that same year.
The fifth victim, a 79-year-old woman, was killed in a blaze in Choa Chu Kang Crescent in September 2024.
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