Sunday, 29 March 2009
10,000 Expected At Civil Defence Shelter Open House
At The 3 New Circle Line MRT Stations

OPEN HOUSE

• The Civil Defence Shelter Open House will be held on Saturday, 4th April 2009 at 3 of the Circle Line (CCL) MRT stations, namely Bishan, Lorong Chuan and Bartley from 9.00am to 5.00pm. (See Annex A for the location maps). This event is supported by LTA, SMRT and People’s Association.
  
• To kick off the open house, we have invited the following Guest-Of-Honour to officiate the event:

  a. Bishan MRT Shelter: Mr Zainudin Nordin
  Mayor, Central Singapore District

  b. Bartley MRT Shelter: Mr Masagos Zulkifli Bin Masagos
  Mohamad
  Senior Parliamentary Secretary
  (Education & Home Affairs & MP for
  Tampines GRC)

  c. Lorong Chuan MRT Shelter: Mr Seah Kian Peng
  MP for Bradell Heights Constituency

• The CD Shelter Programme is part of SCDF’s continuous effort to build up our Civil Defence preparedness under the umbrella of Total Defence. The aim is not only to sustain public awareness on CD shelters and emergency preparedness measures, but also to familiarise members of public on the use of shelters during an emergency. At the same time, the open house also provides a good platform to engage the volunteers and grassroots leaders in the manning of the shelters and emergency sheltering procedures. The last Shelter Open House was conducted at four North East Line (NEL) MRT shelters (Chinatown, Farrer Park, Serangoon and Hougang) in February 2003.
  
• 10,000 visitors are expected to turn up for this event comprising organised groups from the various constituencies, NCDCC, schools and institutions, including other walk-in members of public.
  
• Posters and Banners (See Annex B and Annex C) on the Shelter Open House have been put up island-wide to publicise the event. Members of public who are interested to visit the Shelter Open House may contact their nearest community club.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE EVENT

• Visitors to the Open House will be able to see the various provisions available for protecting and sustaining shelterees in the MRT shelter, including the protective blast doors, decontamination chambers, stationary CCL trains serving as shelter berths, ventilation ducts, dry toilets and shelteree occupation areas. This is indeed a chance for the public to view the underground shelter protection facilities, which commuters would not get to see when the station operates during peacetime.
  
• A concurrent exhibition would also be held to give the public a better understanding of the various CD emergency preparedness measures complementing shelters. The exhibitions will be held in the public areas at the station’s concourse and platform levels. The exhibition will comprise interactive displays on the PWS equipment, sheltering and wartime emergency procedures.
  

OPEN HOUSE CONTEST

• Visitors get a chance to participate in a simple Civil Defence contest requiring them to answer 4 multiple-choice questions relating to the shelters. 50 lucky winners, picked at random, will walk away with a $50 gift voucher.

BACKGROUND TO SHELTER PROGRAMME

Why Do We Need Shelters?

• A comprehensive civil defence shelter construction programme is recognised as the most visible and effective way to protect civilians from weapon effects during an emergency. With the establishment of an effective emergency system, the shelter will provide the physical protection as well psychological assurance to both the population and the national servicemen during a national emergency.

Type Of Shelter Protection

• Civil Defence shelters come in the form of Household, Storey and Public Shelters.
  
• A Household Shelter (HS) refers to a shelter inside an individual dwelling unit. A Storey Shelter (SS) is similar to the Household Shelter, except that it is larger and located in a common area on every storey. Public shelters refer to those civil defence shelters built in a public development such as MRT station or at the foot of HDB block or in school or community centre, or in a government building.

Information About CD Shelters

• Additional information about CD shelters is available here.