NSF Firefighter Is 1st To Pass Away During SCDF Operation, He’d Been Enlisted For 11 Months
Over the past two days, Singaporeans have mourned a 19-year-old full-time national serviceman (NSF) who passed away after attending to a blaze along Henderson Road.
Full-Time NSF Firefighter Passes Away In Henderson Road Blaze, Investigations Ongoing
It turns out that he was also the first firefighter to have passed away during a Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) operation.
Source: Obits.sg
He will be receiving a ceremonial funeral.
SCDF deeply saddened by passing of NSF firefighter
In a Facebook post on Friday (9 Dec) night, SCDF said they’re deeply saddened by the passing of the NSF firefighter, identified as CPL Edward H Go (吴宏澤).
Source: SCDF on Facebook
They also gave an updated account of what happened that day.
CPL Go was apparently part of the first-response crew when SCDF was alerted to a fire at Block 91 Henderson Road at about 11.10am on Thursday (8 Dec).
Source: Lee Tay Lang on Facebook
During the operation, he fell unconscious in the kitchen of the flat.
NSF firefighter was given CPR after falling unconscious
When this happened, CPL Go’s colleagues took action to save him.
He was brought out from the flat and cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was administered.
Source: Shin Min Daily News on Facebook
An SCDF ambulance crew at the scene also used an automated external defibrillator on him.
He was conveyed to Singapore General Hospital (SGH), where he was sadly pronounced dead.
NSF firefighter enlisted on 5 Jan
In their statement, SCDF also gave some background on CPL Go, including the training he’d received.
Before enlistment into national service, he was certified medically fit and put under Physical Employment Standard (PES) A, and deemed suitable for frontline operational vocations.
He enlisted on 5 Jan — meaning he was a bit more than 11 months into his NS stint when the incident happened.
The NSF trained as a firefighter for 12 weeks from 3 Feb to 28 Apr, after which he was posted to the Central Fire Station on 4 May.
Since then, CPL Go had the experience of attending to more than 20 fire and rescue incidents.
Source: Our Tanjong Pagar on Facebook
SCDF also explained that their frontline units comprise regulars, NSFs and Operationally Ready National Servicemen (ORNSmen), adding,
In a fire or rescue emergency, officers of these vocations form a composite crew to respond to the incident. All the training for these different roles and responsibilities are carried out centrally at the Civil Defence Academy through various firefighting and rescue courses.
SCDF will accord him ceremonial funeral
Unfortunately, after responding to countless incidents over the years, CPL Go is their “first colleague to have fallen during an operation”, SCDF said.
They extended their deepest condolences to his family, and are providing them with our fullest support.
SCDF has already changed their Facebook profile photo and cover photo to black and white to mourn him.
Source: SCDF on Facebook
SCDF also took out an obituary that appeared in The Straits Times print edition and Obits.sg.
Additionally, CPL Go will be accorded a ceremonial funeral, with the agreement of his family.
Family & friends mourn his passing
CPL Go’s passing has reportedly left his mother “heartbroken” as she was accompanied by at least seven individuals when she went to inspect her son’s body on Friday (9 Dec) morning.
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She spent 30 minutes in the autopsy room and her eyes were filled with tears as she walked out.
In a Facebook post on Friday (9 Dec), a woman who identified herself as a friend of CPL Go’s grandmother also mourned his death.
Saying she was shocked when she heard the news, the lady said he was “a lovely child while growing up” and “a source of much joy and happiness”.
As his family are close-knit, what happened would be devastating for them, she added, asking people to pray for the family in their time of loss.
MS News offers our sincerest condolences to the family of the deceased. May he rest in peace.
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Featured image adapted from Obits.sg and Shin Min Daily News on Facebook.
