Tag: Total Defence Day

Trip to Emergency Preparedness Centre

When I am eating fish balls, I make sure my boys are around. In case fishball gets lodged in my airway, kids know how to perform abdominal thrust on me.

At Emergency Preparedness Centre, kids had fun clearing the airway from a mannequin. However, I need to emphasize that kids should not anyhow practice on each other!
Abdominal Thrusts

If a fire should break out in the kitchen, our kids know how to use the fire extinguisher. Remember P.A.S.S (Pull.Aim.Squeeze.Sweep)

You have no worries when Boon Xin is around. She knows how to spray the watermist gun too.
Todal Defence Day

Smoke inhalation can knock one unconscious, so keep low. Follow the kids as they crawl their way to the exit.

They know CPR too, but are not certified. I would prefer them to call 995 in the event that they discover someone unconscious and not breathing. From my first responder training, we can only try our best to assist, it is tiring to administer CPR, and even a trained paramedic might not resuscitate a person.

1&2&3&4&5 1&2&3&4&10 and so on. Reminder for kids, do not practice on your slumbering siblings!

We visited Emergency Preparedness Centre last Sun 15th Feb. It happened to be Singapore’s Total Defence Day too. The little ones might not understand that Singapore surrenders to Japan on the same day during World War 2.

EPC aims to showcase life saving tricks and skills to more people. We need to reinforce to our kids that protecting Singapore is everyone’s responsibility, not only the military.

The three students who survived Typhoon Haiyan shared their experience.

Situated on the 2nd floor of Central Firestation Heritage Gallery, book your next edutainment session at this link.

Besides the life savings mentioned above, EPC has a lot of interactive panels for kids. They will showcase the Do’s and Don’ts during Lighting, Tsunami or an Earthquake.

Video : Emergency Preparedness Centre (EPC) provides interactive Fun all around, and kids learn new skills

You can even experience natural disasters in a simulation, the 3D setup got a bit of USS feel πŸ™‚ Pretty realistic!

Fire incidences can be easily ignited all around our home vicinity. Faulty plugs or daisy chaining all the plugs at one socket! The number 1 fire spot is the common rubbish chute, why would anyone flick their cigarette butt down?

Fire needs three components to ignite, identify them (Oxygen, Fuel and Heat) and you can then proceed to stop (starve) the flame. Always Safety first, and if we need to evacuate, SHOUT loudly and ensure everyone wakes up.

Hopefully, we know how to respond when Singapore encounters threats of Bombs and Terrorist attacks. In worst case, we are supposed to coop ourselves in bomb shelter, but do remember to clear the packed storeroom first :p


Other tips which might prove useful in day to day incidents

We stayed on at the Civil Defence Heritage Gallery after our EPC orientation. Our valiant SCDF folks had volunteer themselves for many oversea missions too.

We have some tips for house hold. Leave a torch light (with batteries) next to your circuit breaker. Do family members know how to use it? Do label the rooms too.

Know your escape route. In the event that lift is not usable, we have to walk down the stairs. Does everyone know where are the hidden stairs?

Fireman or paramedic, kids can choose their own HomeTeam assignment.

Everyone plays a part in defending Singapore. We highly recommend EPC for school going kids.

In case you are not aware, most firestations will have open house every Sat from 0900 to 1100. We will recommend you make it a two in one event when you visit EPC.

Salute to our Civic Defence Heroes!

More details here :
– remember Fireman and Ambulance is 995, Police 999 (991 is Hollywood)
– SCDF Fanpage
– register for your Emergency Preparedness Centre session (1 hour duration)
– Do pop by our Central Firestation open house in 2009, and how SengkangBabies hope to stay prepared during an emergency.

– download a First Aid app, it has a comprehensive list of life-saving tips

*updated 2016 April – With SG Secure, we believe EPC will be a good venue for all to pickup life skills and knowledge.

How to Stay Prepared in an emergency

Sometimes, Daddy acts paranoid and wonder whether we know how to react during a crisis. How do we Stay Prepared?

If the adults are not prepared, what more the kids?

Recently, Temasek Cares distributed “Stay Prepared” bundles (N95 masks and emergency contact numbers) to all homes. We are expecting Indonesia’s Haze to return.

Singapore free n95 masks

What happens when a fire breakout? A lift breakdown?
Do we know which number to dial?
Do kids know how (and where) to shout for help?

Fire Escape HDB
Emergency number lift

More crisis scenarios.

How many of us have experience water and food rationing before?
Do we know where is the nearest bomb shelter (MRT)?
(are you really going to hide in your HDB bomb shelter?)

The Little India riot shows how helpless we can be.
Do we wait for riot police to control the situation?
Do we listen for latest updates on FM radio or TV channel?
What if our TV network is down?

Too many IFs ! We need an Emergency checklist.

It is up to us parents to raise our kids’ safety awareness.
If we adults do not know how to Stay Prepared for an emergency, the kids would be worse off.

Here are some of the basic things which we teach our kids :

1) In the event of a fire.
– evacuate everyone outside
– ask neighbours to call 995
– if fire is huge, head for staicase escape route, walk down the stairs

Kids must know where are the keys, and tall enough to open the doors and run outside.
(We have to assume that adults might be unconscious)

Video : Dry run – Kids walking down HDB staircase

2) Do we know what to do if someone suffers a burn, cut or fall?
Do we know how to apply first aid? (Boon Kang’s bad fall)

Ideally, someone in the home is trained with First Aid. This life saving skill can be helpful in a community.
Where to learn first aid

We need to improve our civic mindfulness too. Some of us have the “not my business” or “someone will do it” mentality. We often heard stories of how vehicles refuse to give way to ambulances !

Video : Look at how Germany give way to emergency services

More information about First Aid
– SCDF courses (Learn about First AID, CPR, AED)
– refer poster above, do check with your RC or CC whether they have First Aid awareness courses
– Rapid Rescue App, sends a signal to the nearest First Aider (not available for Android)

3) Do we have a First Aid box at home?
Do we know what to keep inside a First Aid box?
Where to buy First Aid box

4) Besides the First Aid box, an Emergency Grab Bag will come in useful too.
More about Stay Prepared campaign.

During a war, or terrorist attack, how do we respond? How do we keep in contact?
Some of the things which we take for granted :
– torchlight
– FM radio
– can opener (during Reservist, we realised cocktails cans are useless without the can opener!)
– batteries!

Sometimes, we always assume that Somehow Someone will know Something!
(or worse, government will handle everything)

If we parents are not prepared, who will protect our family?
– http://www.stayprepared.sg/about-stay-prepared-starter-kits.html
– http://www.e101.gov.sg/
– http://www.scdf.gov.sg/content/scdf_internet/en/community-and-volunteers/community-preparedness/community-programmes/ready-bag.html

How to go to Fire Station open house

– Every Sat from 9 to 11am, do pop by your neighbourhood Fire Stations open house. Take the opportunity to educate the kids about safety awareness (our Fire station visit)

– Blood Donation anyone?