Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on Whether SCDF will Share Lessons Learnt from the 8 December 2022 Henderson Road Fire Incident with All Funeral Companies and Town Councils

Question:

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs in light of the reported delay of 18 minutes in accessing the fire incident site at Henderson Road on 8 December 2022 due to the blockage caused by a funeral wake tentage, whether the SCDF will be sharing with all funeral companies and town councils relevant details of the blockage and all lessons therefrom so that all stakeholders will benefit from the lessons learned and avoid the risk of recurrence.

Answer:

Mr K Shanmugam, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law:

1.   The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) conducts biannual dialogues with Town Councils to share fire safety-related matters such as common fire infringements observed and case studies on fire incidents at residential premises. Whenever a fire occurs at residential premises, SCDF also disseminates fire safety advisories to all Town Councils so that necessary measures can be taken to minimise any recurrence.

2.   At the latest SCDF-Town Councils dialogue held on 12 January 2023, SCDF shared the fire safety non-compliances detected during the fire at Henderson Road. In fact, areas that need to be kept free of obstructions are already clearly marked out on the ground, and this should have been complied with. The Town Council involved has taken action against the funeral company, as the breach was avoidable.

3.   SCDF will continue to work with Town Councils to ensure fire safety compliance among users of common property under their charge, such as contractors and funeral companies.