SINGAPORE: For six years, he rushed to accident sites, rescuing people as a paramedic. But when Mr Yeo Ren Jie graduates from university, he could be the brains behind the next generation of ambulances that are safer and can prevent equipment and staff from falling over when rushing to attend to victims.
The Home Team is organising an exhibition from Friday (Nov 12) to Sunday to showcase what officers like him do.
Mr Yeo, 26, clinched a Ministry of Home Affairs sponsorship last year to pursue industrial design at the National University of Singapore (NUS). He was only 20 and fresh out of polytechnic when he signed on as a full-time paramedic. Despite being on the Dean’s List for Temasek Polytechnic’s Product and Industrial Design diploma course, he put further studies on hold to pursue his other passion: Life-saving work.
He had started out as a Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) volunteer with his sister at Mountbatten Community Centre, teaching residents cardiopulmonary resuscitation and fire-fighting techniques on weekends as part of the Community Emergency Preparedness Programme.
Then in 2006, he became a uniformed volunteer when the Civil Defence Auxiliary Unit was launched.
After signing on, he received two years of full-time training. Every call received was “quite a challenge”, said Mr Yeo, a staff sergeant.
Aside from the 14-hour shift work and the need to be physically and mentally fit, he had to remain calm and composed as a crew leader.
“It is adrenaline-rushing because a life is (at stake), so my job is to stay calm and (the rest is) all muscle memory - the steps are always there, but the difficulty is trying to manage the scene,” he said.
Cases involving death were especially challenging. Recalling an incident of a young boy who drowned in a river and whose body was only found a few days later, he said: “(When) the mother came down, she was hysterical. And when she showed us the photo, he was so young.”
He added: “I have a younger brother too, so I can relate to how she feels ... but we have the support from our colleagues and family.”
Looking forward to a new chapter that may involve ambulance design after he graduates, Mr Yeo, a second-year student, said: “We often come up with new ideas to improve the work and organisation. So in NUS, I learnt how we can improve the experience of the whole ambulance service, for example.”
Themed Home Safe Home, this year’s Home Team Festival will be held at the Singapore Expo. Visitors can meet Home Team officers, get a feel of their daily challenges and view the latest equipment. The Singapore Global Firefighters and Paramedics Challenge will also be held.
-TODAY/av