SBS Transit bus driver who put out car fire among winners of Transport Gold Awards

SINGAPORE - SBS Transit senior bus captain Jin Shu Juan was in a training session on a bus with a trainee driver in August­ 2023, when she saw a stationary car on fire along Old Airport Road.

Confident in her own ability to put out the fire based on the training she had received with the public transport operator, she stepped forward to help the car’s driver, who was in his 70s.

Ms Jin eventually used two fire extinguishers to put out the fire coming from the bonnet, before fire­fighters from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) arrived at the scene.

The 45-year-old was among 37 winners of the Outstanding Award at the 25th edition of the Transport Gold Awards, which was held on Nov 27 at the Capitol Theatre.

The awards, organised by the Singa­pore Kindness Movement (SKM), the Land Transport Authority and their partners, also recognised 1,347 transport staff with Commendation Awards. 

The recipients were chosen after a nomination and selection process that involved their peers, supervisors and a panel of representatives from the authorities and SKM.

Thanking Ms Jin in a speech at the award ceremony, Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat said “her courage, quick thinking and fire safe­ty training kept the situation under control and ensured the safe­ty of those around her until the SCDF arrived”.  

Ms Jin, a Singaporean bus driver of 15 years, told The Straits Times: “It is only natural to help someone when they are in need, which was why I fought the fire.”

The daughter of the car’s driver later wrote a letter to SBS Transit to express gratitude to Ms Jin for her actions.

SBS Transit spokeswoman Grace Wu said the company was immensely proud of Ms Jin.

Previously an economic beehoon seller at Toa Payoh Interchange, Ms Jin, originally from China, had a pool of regular customers who were bus drivers. Seeing her friendly demeanour, the drivers recommended that she join the company as a bus driver. 

Ms Jin said her two sons, aged 13 and 20, were impressed when they heard she had won the award.

She had gone beyond the call of duty to put out the fire, even though the driver wanted to do it himself with the fire extinguisher from the bus. 

She also showed initiative and quick thinking: After the first fire extinguisher she used was empty, Ms Jin contacted SBS Transit’s bus operations control centre and managed to get a second fire extinguisher from another SBS Transit bus that was plying its regular route nearby.

She finally put out the fire with the second fire extinguisher.

As part of her training in fighting a fire, she learnt that it is essential to calm affected persons after the incident.

She followed through and assured the driver of the car, his companion, and a few members of the public in the vicinity that the fire had been extinguished.

In his speech, Mr Chee also expressed his gratitude to all transport workers, adding that when a crisis happens, the “key is how we respond to it”.

He highlighted how different parts of the transport sector worked together to safely restore rail services during the major six-day East-West MRT Line disruption from Sept 25 to Sept 30 between Jurong East and Buona Vista, which affected about 2.6 million passengers.

“I will work very hard, together with support from our public transport operators and our tripartite partners, to make sure that we do not let that happen again,” Mr Chee said.