Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on Common Causes of House Fires in the Past Five Years, by Mr K Shanmugam, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law

Question:

Mr Mohd Fahmi Bin Aliman: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what are the common causes of house fires in the past five years; (b) how has the SCDF been spreading awareness about fire safety at home within the community; and (c) whether SCDF plans to come up with new initiatives to increase awareness about fire safety at home.

Answer:

1.   The common causes of residential fires are unattended cooking, indiscriminate disposal of lighted materials such as cigarette butts, and fires of electrical origin, which include overloading of electrical sockets and use of uncertified electrical devices.

2.   SCDF has been raising awareness about fire hazards and sharing fire safety tips with the public through community events and targeted outreach. For example, it works with community partners such as the Community Emergency and Engagement Committees (C2Es) to organise community engagement events, which provide hands-on training on the use of fire extinguishers, and disseminate fire safety educational materials. After a fire incident, SCDF partners the C2Es to conduct door-to-door engagements with residents of the affected blocks to share fire safety tips and assuage possible concerns. SCDF also organises Community Emergency Preparedness Programmes (CEPP) that members of the public can sign up for to learn lifesaving and emergency response procedures.

3.   SCDF regularly reviews its outreach and introduces new initiatives every now and then to enhance the public’s knowledge of fire safety. When the COVID-19 situation stabilises, SCDF will introduce Community Resilience Days, where it will organise roadshows in the heartlands to teach basic lifesaving and emergency preparedness skills. We encourage the public to participate in these events.