Simulator gets SCDF firefighters all fired up

Mandai facility provides realistic training on tackling chemical fires and hazardous materials

SPH Brightcove Video
The Singapore Civil Defence Force's Diamond simulator, which resembles a chemical processing plant, is a sprawling five-storey facility where SCDF personnel hone their advanced firefighting and rescue skills.
One of the newer technologies being explored by the Singapore Civil Defence Force is the Pumper Firefighting Machine (above), a remotely-controlled device that can get close to fires without risking the lives of SCDF firefighters.
One of the newer technologies being explored by the Singapore Civil Defence Force is the Pumper Firefighting Machine (above), a remotely-controlled device that can get close to fires without risking the lives of SCDF firefighters. ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
Straits Times reporter Zaihan Mohamed Yusof gets help donning a hazmat chemical suit. Weighing 24kg in total, the suit includes a breathing mask, air cylinder and a helmet.
Straits Times reporter Zaihan Mohamed Yusof gets help donning a hazmat chemical suit. Weighing 24kg in total, the suit includes a breathing mask, air cylinder and a helmet. ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
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With its snaking pipes, storage cylinders and tall distillation tower, the facility may look like a typical chemical processing plant in Tuas or Jurong Island.

In reality, the plant is a training simulator used by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) for its industrial fire and hazardous material (hazmat) training.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on September 24, 2018, with the headline Simulator gets SCDF firefighters all fired up. Subscribe