Thursday, 10 December 2015
Festive Season Fire Safety Advisories 2015
With the year-end fast approaching, the SCDF would like to extend its season’s greetings to everyone. Importantly, the SCDF would also like to remind everyone to be fire safe during this festive period by following useful fire safety tips mentioned below.
As the number of patrons and customers is usually higher during the festive season, the SCDF would like to remind the owners and management of public buildings and places of recreation/ entertainment including hotels and shopping centres to ensure compliance to all fire safety requirements.
Escape passageways should be free of obstruction and fire exit doors should be kept accessible for use during emergencies. Overcrowding in public premises especially in entertainment outlets, such as discotheques and pubs, should be avoided as it would impede safe evacuation in the event of fire.
SCDF will be stepping up fire safety inspections and enforcement checks at commercial buildings and public entertainment outlets. SCDF takes fire safety violations seriously and will not hesitate to take tough enforcement actions against the offenders.
For first time offenders, they may be fined up to $5000. Recalcitrant and repeat offenders will be prosecuted in court. If found liable for the offence, offenders can be fined up to $10,000 or jailed up to 6 months or both. Major offences like commencement of fire safety works without plan approval carries a fine of up to $200,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 24 months, or both.
We would like to urge members of the public who spot fire hazards to report them to the SCDF. They can do so by calling our fire hazard reporting line at 1800-280-0000 or email us at [email protected].
In addition to these reporting channels, the ‘mySCDF’ application for smartphones is also available for download on Apple and Android App stores. Members of the public who encountered fire hazards can submit photos and a brief description of the hazards to the SCDF via the ‘mySCDF’ application.
Fire safety is a collective responsibility and together we can all help to reduce fire occurrences in Singapore.