With reference to last Friday's letters by Ms Ada Chan Siew Foen ("Passers-by who helped deserve public commendations") and

Mr A. Kannan ("When life is at stake, no one is a stranger"), the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) applauds the actions of the passers-by in stepping forward to rescue a man who was trapped underneath a lorry prior to SCDF's arrival.

Their collective spirit of helping someone in an emergency situation is highly commendable.

Following the incident, the SCDF made a posting on its Facebook page commending the timely intervention of those who stepped forward to help.

In so doing, they exemplified the importance of the community as a first response in helping someone in an emergency.

We have already identified a few of these good Samaritans and look forward to hearing from the rest, as we intend to present them with the SCDF Public Spiritedness Award.

Our officers can be reached on 6471-7417 or 6332-3001.

Leslie Williams (Lieutenant-Colonel)

Assistant Director

Public Affairs Department

Singapore Civil Defence Force