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Making a safe haven with bomb shelters at MRT stations

MRT shelters can accommodate between 3,000 and 19,000 people depending on the size. These shelters are designed to ensure a safe and comfortable environment.
MRT shelters can accommodate between 3,000 and 19,000 people depending on the size. These shelters are designed to ensure a safe and comfortable environment. ST PHOTOS: ARIFFIN JAMAR
Posters on the walls at Bishan MRT (Circle Line) station provide information to exercise participants.
Posters on the walls at Bishan MRT (Circle Line) station provide information to exercise participants.ST PHOTOS: ARIFFIN JAMAR
Servicemen inside the shelter guide participants (seated in the photo) to ensure things proceed in an orderly manner.
Servicemen inside the shelter guide participants (seated in the photo) to ensure things proceed in an orderly manner.ST PHOTOS: ARIFFIN JAMAR
The three-hour exercise tested the capabilities of the Singapore Civil Defence Force’s Public Shelter and Resilience Unit (PSRU) in converting Bishan MRT (Circle Line) station into a shelter and managing its occupants. Above: The steel blast door at the e
The three-hour exercise tested the capabilities of the Singapore Civil Defence Force’s Public Shelter and Resilience Unit (PSRU) in converting Bishan MRT (Circle Line) station into a shelter and managing its occupants. Above: The steel blast door at the entrance of the station is closed.ST PHOTOS: ARIFFIN JAMAR
The three-hour exercise tested the capabilities of the Singapore Civil Defence Force’s Public Shelter and Resilience Unit (PSRU) in converting Bishan MRT (Circle Line) station into a shelter and managing its occupants. Above: Servicemen putting up ventila
The three-hour exercise tested the capabilities of the Singapore Civil Defence Force’s Public Shelter and Resilience Unit (PSRU) in converting Bishan MRT (Circle Line) station into a shelter and managing its occupants. Above: Servicemen putting up ventilation ducts in an MRT train carriage.ST PHOTOS: ARIFFIN JAMAR
The three-hour exercise tested the capabilities of the Singapore Civil Defence Force’s Public Shelter and Resilience Unit (PSRU) in converting Bishan MRT (Circle Line) station into a shelter and managing its occupants. Above: Servicemen also set up sanita
The three-hour exercise tested the capabilities of the Singapore Civil Defence Force’s Public Shelter and Resilience Unit (PSRU) in converting Bishan MRT (Circle Line) station into a shelter and managing its occupants. Above: Servicemen also set up sanitation facilities like a dry toilet system.ST PHOTOS: ARIFFIN JAMAR
The servicemen closing the reinforced steel blast doors at an MRT track tunnel entrance during the exercise at Bishan MRT Civil Defence Shelter (Circle Line) in the early hours of Dec 10 last year.
The servicemen closing the reinforced steel blast doors at an MRT track tunnel entrance during the exercise at Bishan MRT Civil Defence Shelter (Circle Line) in the early hours of Dec 10 last year.ST PHOTOS: ARIFFIN JAMAR
Hazmat – hazardous materials – suits are donned by servicemen manning the decontamination chamber.
Hazmat – hazardous materials – suits are donned by servicemen manning the decontamination chamber.ST PHOTOS: ARIFFIN JAMAR
There are shower facilities at the decontamination chamber for anyone exposed to hazardous materials.
There are shower facilities at the decontamination chamber for anyone exposed to hazardous materials.ST PHOTOS: ARIFFIN JAMAR
The MRT control station is used as a command base by the unit made up of operationally ready national servicemen.
The MRT control station is used as a command base by the unit made up of operationally ready national servicemen.ST PHOTOS: ARIFFIN JAMAR
An exercise participant with a simulated head injury being bandaged up by a PSRU serviceman at a first-aid point.
An exercise participant with a simulated head injury being bandaged up by a PSRU serviceman at a first-aid point.ST PHOTOS: ARIFFIN JAMAR

In the event of a national emergency, SCDF will convert some underground MRT stations to protect the population

Published: 
Jan 6, 2020, 5:00 am SGT
jariffin@sph.com.sg

Once a year, as an operationally ready national serviceman, I put on my Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) uniform and take on the role of a sergeant in an MRT shelter company.

While most people are sound asleep at 1am, about 40 of us begin converting our assigned MRT station into a bomb shelter.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on January 06, 2020, with the headline 'Making a safe haven'. Print Edition | Subscribe
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