General

To encourage and recognise acts of Pride & Care in SCDF, Pride & Care Awards are given out regularly to deserving staff and personnel. These may include selfless, heroic acts during the course of duty, but more often than not, our Pride & Care heroes were awarded for their generous and caring actions performed while they were off duty, and out of uniform.

The following are the winners for Pride & Care Star Award 2011:

On 24 May 2010 at about 1345 hrs, some SCDF officers were attending the wake of a colleague’s mother when they were informed that a man at the nearby car park had gone on a rampage and smashed 4 cars with an axe. Fearing that the man might turn to attack civilians, MAJ Wesley Ho and LTA Faizal sprang into action. They approached the man, who went to purchase a hammer and was about to continue his rampage, and cornered him. MAJ Wesley Ho and LTA Faizal then snatched the hammer away from him and pinned him to the ground till the arrival of the SPF.

SSG Ismail Bin Khalid has been in the service since 2 January 2006. He frequently volunteers on Saturdays, in his own off-duty time, at the Henderson WELL (We Love Learning) to help less privileged children through tuition, story-telling and other activities. The Singapore Boys’ Home got to know of the 4 Alexandra Fire Station volunteers through Henderson WELL, and invited them to give an educational talk on their lives as professional firefighters during their off-duty hours.

SSG Ismail, as the main liaison officer, got approval from his station commander and then took the initiative to active liaise with the Manager of the Boys’ Home to find out about their background and lifestyle. This helped him to better prepare for his presentation so that it would be an interesting and fulfilling one for the youngsters. He also went the extra mile to engage the youngsters during the talk by preparing jokes, quizzes, giving real life accounts, letting them don the full fire gear with breathing apparatus and try out some of the equipment. The visit helped lift the spirits of the troubled youngsters and left an impact on them. He received an email compliment from the Singapore Boy’s Home for his passion and professionalism at the educational talk.

On 18 September 2010 at about 0815 hrs, SGT Chng (CDAU) was off-duty, driving along Choa Chu Kang Drive when he saw a group of people by the side of the road. He stopped his vehicle to check out the commotion and saw an old lady on the floor. A bystander informed him that she had fainted. SGT Chng immediately checked the vital signs of the old lady and found that she had no pulse and was not breathing. After ensuring someone had called an ambulance, he administered 5 cycles of CPR on the casualty but the lady still showed no reaction. At that point, the ambulance arrived and he handed the case over to the arriving crew.

On 20 October 2010 at about 2225 hrs, after an exercise for the fire fighter course, both SGT Masrupe and LCP Md Saufey were on their way home and about to board a bus outside CDA when they were informed by passengers that a young man had fainted in the bus. Both of them quickly went onboard to carry him to the bus-stop. The man was not breathing and LCP Saufey performed CPR, which he learnt during first aid training in BRTC, to revive the patient. Soon after, the ambulance arrived to take over and conveyed the casualty to the hospital.

Newly enlisted CD NSF recruits from 116th BRT was posted to BRTC on 3 August 2010. On 14 August 2010, CPT Yusof had learnt from his platoon commanders that the families of some recruits’ families faced serious financial hardships. He visited three of the recruits’ families to confirm the facts. Upon assessment, CPT Yusof decided to give a one-time financial gift with his own money to the affected families in the form of groceries and basic necessities (such as rice, sugar, cooking oil) amounting to a total of around $200. He delivered the gifts to them one week before Ramadan.

On 13 August 2010 at about 2220 hrs, SGT Siti Nurhashilah and her husband were driving along Admiralty Road West when they witnessed, on the opposite lane, a man lying on the road beside a fallen motorcycle. They had to make U-turn 200 metres away to reach the accident but it was still difficult to get through as the traffic was heavy. SGT Siti then got out of the car and ran towards the casualty. She introduced herself and assessed him for any life-threatening injuries. The patient was conscious and alert, and told SGT Siti that he was trying to avoid a dog and therefore self-skidded on the road. He also mentioned that someone had already called for an ambulance. After confirming that the patient did not suffer from spinal injuries, she assisted in removing the patient’s helmet. She then discovered that the casualty had a closed fracture on his right arm. SGT Siti helped to immobilize the casualty’s arm and reassure him that the ambulance was on the way. She stayed with the casualty before handing over to the arriving crew.