Warrant Officer (1) Ivan Holmberg arrived at the scene of a fire engulfing a Choa Chu Kang fruit stall around midnight last July.

What he saw: a man trying to douse the flames while a second man stood behind watching.

The officer's suspicions were aroused when the second man claimed he was a 'passer-by' who had run 30m to seek help from the first man, a nearby coffee-shop patron.

Warrant officer Holmberg, 46, said: 'Based on my experience, people who come across a fire will usually try to put it out first.'

Another sign that would have eluded most except the most seasoned: The man kept rubbing his hand while he talked, as if it had been singed by flames.

The 'eye-witness' was later detained for further investigation. The closed circuit television footage later confirmed he was, in fact, the fire starter.

Warrant officer Holmberg, who worked his way up the ranks from a private 22 years ago, said of arsonists: 'They usually stay around because they want to see the effects of what they do.'

The Station Sergeant Major at the Woodlands Fire Station was also activated for the Sungei Kadut fire on Sunday, the largest blaze here in five years.

He joined 99 other Home Team officers yesterday in receiving National Day Awards from Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng, who is also the Home Affairs Minister.

Seventy-three members of the public also picked up awards for acts of public-spiritedness, including four men who smashed the windows of a crashed car and pulled out the unconscious driver.

Soon after, the vehicle burst into flames. The driver regained consciousness 15 minutes later.

Mr Rajangam Manimaran, 34, one of the four foreigners who had saved the driver, said: 'In India, I saved many people from fires. So when I saw the man in trouble, I just went and helped.'

TEH JOO LIN & ELIZABETH WILMOT