Regular Scenario-based Emergency Evacuation Drills for Wider Population
Ministry of Home AffairsSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns whether there are plans to implement mandatory or regular scenario-based emergency evacuation drills beyond fire safety for more Singaporeans, raised by Ms Joan Pereira. In response, Senior Minister, Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam stated that the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) publishes guidelines for various emergencies and mandates annual evacuation drills for premises with occupant loads exceeding 200 persons. Additionally, SCDF and the Singapore Police Force (SPF) conduct regular contingency exercises with Safety and Security Watch Group members, such as Exercise Heartbeat. The SPF and SCDF also run Community Resilience Day programmes and collaborate through the SGSecure movement to hold counter-terrorism drills in schools, workplaces, and the community. Agencies will continue reviewing the scope of these exercises to equip Singaporeans with emergency response skills and strengthen community resilience.
Transcript
124 Ms Joan Pereira asked the Senior Minister, Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs whether there are plans to roll out mandatory or regular scenario-based emergency evacuation drills for more Singaporeans that go beyond fire safety.
Mr K Shanmugam: The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) has established evacuation guidelines for emergencies beyond fires, such as hazardous material incidents and natural disasters. These are published in the Civil Defence Emergency Handbook, which is available to the public. Premises that meet the specified criteria, such as public buildings with an occupant load exceeding 200 persons, are required to establish emergency response plans and conduct evacuation drills at least once a year.
Beyond the requirements on premises, SCDF and the Singapore Police Force (SPF) conduct a range of engagements and scenario-based emergency preparedness exercises to strengthen community readiness for emergencies. SPF and SCDF work closely with Safety and Security Watch Group (SSWG) members, which consist of business stakeholders, to conduct security surveys, share best practices and deliver training on building safety and security awareness. Exercises are also regularly conducted with SSWG members to validate their contingency response plans and ensure their readiness in the event of emergencies. This includes Exercise Heartbeat, a counter-terrorism and emergency preparedness exercise, that is held at different locations every year and involves a range of stakeholders.
The SPF and SCDF also conduct Community Resilience Day programmes which include activities that teach residents how to respond during a terror attack and other emergencies.
In addition, through the SGSecure movement, MHA and the cluster leads work closely with stakeholders to conduct emergency preparedness drills for terrorist attacks in schools, workplaces, and the community.
Together, these initiatives seek to equip Singaporeans with the skills and confidence to respond to a broad range of emergencies and strengthen community resilience. But in our secure environment, a lot of effort continues to be needed to have effective public education. Agencies will continue to review the scope of these exercises to ensure that more Singaporeans are prepared to respond to crises.