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ARSON DETECTIVE: Sniffer dogs like Max, an Australian cattle dog, will help the SCDF investigate arson cases by smelling out fuel accelerants. -- ST PHOTOS: LIM CHIN PING
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MORE than a dozen state agencies are expected to take part in a simulated high-seas evacuation next month that could affect the shipping lanes around Singapore and its seaports, officials said yesterday.
The drill, Northstar VI, is designed to test how emergency crew handle a mishap in the waters off Singapore.
They will respond to a simulated accident on board a cruise ship in an exercise that is expected to have far-reaching real-world effects.
Minister for Home Affairs Wong Kan Seng gave details about the drill yesterday. He said: 'As the scenario for this exercise will be a large-scale simulated sea mishap on board a cruise ship, it will impact our ports and busy shipping lanes.'
The exercise will be on May23 and involve 13 agencies, including the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore.
Cruise companies contacted said they conducted regular fire and evacuation drills, so their staff were well trained in the event of an emergency.
Royal Caribbean Cruises communications executive Pamela Phua said the line's passengers had to attend an evacuation drill when they boarded a ship for the first time.
Star Cruises deputy general manager Lily Lim said it carried out smaller versions of evacuation exercises for its own staff on an annual basis.
Unlike the previous Northstar exercise, which simulated a bomb attack on an MRT train, the scenario next month is unlikely to involve hundreds of members of the public.
In the 2006 scenario, details of the 'bombing' were kept secret until minutes before the start of the drill, to create a sense of realism.
News of the disaster simulation came at the SCDF's annual workplan seminar yesterday, which allows officers to discuss their plans for the coming year.
The event featured a slew of new gadgets and vehicles used to contain chemicals from a leak or a 'dirty bomb', a device which spreads radioactive material when it explodes.
Sniffer dogs trained to detect fuel accelerants such as kerosene and petrol will join human colleagues to find the cause of a fire at suspected arson scenes.
The SCDF will introduce a new protocol for officers manning the 995 emergency line. They will ask callers more focused questions to get a better idea of the patient's condition.
The information will then be relayed to paramedics and the hospital to which the patient is taken. SCDF Commissioner James Tan said the new system would help SCDF officers better manage the patient.
The system was based on studies that SCDF officers conducted on ambulance services in Chicago and Denver in the United States, and Melbourne in Australia.
'It will enable us to swiftly ascertain accurately a patient's condition through a simple set of questions. This will speed up treatment in the ambulance and at the hospital,' Mr Tan said.
cheekin@sph.com.sg
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