Singapore’s first firefighters formed a brigade in 1869, which was officially recognised as the Singapore Fire Brigade in 1888.1 The current firefighting force is known as the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).2
History
Although a Fire Committee was formed on 20 December 1855, the first fire brigade was not established until 10 April 1869. Prior to this, fires were attended to by uniformed groups which included the police, sepoys, marine soldiers and even convicts. The Fire Ordinance was enacted on 7 September 1869, and Governor Harry St George appointed the colonial engineer to head the Fire Commission for Singapore. The first members of this voluntary Fire Brigade included notable estate owners such as W. H. Read, Thomas Scott, R. MacPherson, W. Maxwell and C. Dunlop. Poor organisation under difficult circumstances plagued this voluntary Fire Brigade until its demise in 1884. In 1888, the Singapore Fire Brigade was established and, with sufficient funding, gained recognition as a fully equipped professional brigade.3
By 1909, there were a total of three built stations servicing Singapore: Central Fire Station on Hill Street, and the fire stations on Cross Street and in Kallang. In 1980, the Singapore Fire Service (SFS) became the official name for the brigade.4 Today’s Singapore Civil Defence Force was formed in April 1989 with the merger of two services, the Fire Service and the Civil Defence Force.5
Author
Bonny Tan
References
1. Hon, J. (1988). 100 years of the Singapore Fire Service. Singapore: Times Books International, pp. 9, 15. (Call no.: RSING 363.378095957 HON)
2. Singapore Civil Defence Force. (n.d.). About us. Retrieved 2016, August 10 from Singapore Civil Defence Force website: https://www.scdf.gov.sg/content/scdf_internet/en/general/about-us.html
3. Hon, J. (1988). 100 years of the Singapore Fire Service. Singapore: Times Books International, pp. 2, 8–9, 11–12, 15–18. (Call no.: RSING 363.378095957 HON)
4. Hon, J. (1988). 100 years of the Singapore Fire Service. Singapore: Times Books International, pp. 24, 103. (Call no.: RSING 363.378095957 HON)
5. Singapore Civil Defence Force. (n.d.). About us. Retrieved 2016, August 10 from Singapore Civil Defence Force website: https://www.scdf.gov.sg/content/scdf_internet/en/general/about-us.html
The information in this article is valid as at 2016 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.
The information on this page and any images that appear here may be used for private research and study purposes only. They may not be copied, altered or amended in any way without first gaining the permission of the copyright holder.
Panglima Prang was a 19th-century Straits Chinese bungalow built by Tan Jiak Kim, a grandson of Tan Kim Seng, one of the early pioneers in Singapore. The house belonged to a generation of bungalows built in the latter half of the 1800s as wealthy Chinese merchants moved into the suburb....
Public housing in Singapore may be said to have begun with the formal establishment of the Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT) in 1927 by the colonial government to provide low-cost housing in addition to improvement works. The Housing and Development Board (HDB) replaced SIT as the national housing authority in 1960...
Located off Changi Road at the 10th milestone, Somapah was a residential area centred on the Somapah estate, which was also known as Somapah Village. The area was named after Indian landowner Hunmah Somapah. Although Somapah Road still exists, the villagers have since been resettled and the area redeveloped into...
Joseph Aaron Elias (b. 1881, Calcutta, India–d. 16 July 1949, Singapore), also known as Joe Elias, was a successful entrepreneur and well-known personality in Singapore’s Jewish community. He held offices as a justice of peace and municipal commissioner of Singapore. Elias Road and Amber Road were named after his family....
Anderson Bridge straddles the mouth of the Singapore River and connects Empress Place with Collyer Quay. It was named after John Anderson, governor of the Straits Settlements and high commissioner for the Federated Malay States (1904–11), who officially opened the bridge on 12 March 1910....
Beaulieu House is located at 117 Beaulieu Road, within the grounds of what is now Sembawang Park. Built sometime in the 1910s, the house was believed to have been owned by a Jewish family by the name of David, before the building and the surrounding land were acquired by the...
Mount Faber is located in the Bukit Merah area in the central region of Singapore. Standing at 106 m above sea level, it was originally known as Telok Blangah Hill. It was renamed Mount Faber in July 1845 after Charles Edward Faber of the Madras Engineers, who built a narrow...
Built in 1998, the Tanjong Rhu Bridge spans the Geylang River, allowing residents of Tanjong Rhu to cross over to the Singapore Sports Hub....
Alkaff Mansion is a 19th century colonial bungalow located on a hill at 10 Telok Blangah Green. Built in 1918 by a member of the prominent Alkaff family as a weekend house, it became known for hosting high society parties in the 1930s. The mansion once served as...
Mountbatten Estate is one of the five subzones in the Marine Parade area within Singapore’s Central Region. It spans a total area of 161 ha. It was named after Lord Louis Mountbatten, who later became Earl Mountbatten of Burma. Today, Mountbatten Estate is described as an area with a mix...