COMMUNITY
SAFE WATERS
07 Aug 2007
People say that fire is a good servant but a bad master. So is water, at least for the National Day Parade (NDP) 2007.
Water will be heavily used during the entire NDP - as water screens and fountains to enhance the visual impact of the performance.
With such a large water body around the floating platform, safety will naturally be of paramount concern. But the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) is ready for any possible contingencies.
There will be 10 safety boats on duty in the Marina Bay. On board every vessel will be a coxswain, two lifeguards from Singapore Life Guard Corps and a medic.
Also part of the water safety team will be two fire-fighting boats with a coxswain and three Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) personnel.
And just to be doubly sure, every performer crossing the Walk on Water (WOW) bridge and Actor bridge will don a life jacket underneath their colourful costumes.
Speaking to cyberpioneer, Lieutenant-Colonel (LTC) Chua Siew Boon, Chairman of Show Safety and Contingency, said: "The challenge of ensuring water safety here lies in the fact that this is a new place. We need to understand the constraints and the environmental hazards around the floating platform."
Should anyone fall into the water, the nearest safety boat will rescue the victim before sending him to the nearest medical post - either under the Benjamin Sheares Bridge or in front of UOB Plaza.
On way to the medical post, the patient will be assessed by the medic in the boat before the medical officers on duty at the post attend to him upon reaching the post.
Two ambulances will be on stand-by at each medical post, ready to send the patient to the Singapore General Hospital for treatment, if necessary.
Third Sergeant (3SG) Maurice Bay, who will be one of the medics attached to the safety boats, said that all the medics went for a refresher course at SAFTI Military Institute recently.
But he noted that administering first aid on the boat is not as easy as doing it on flat ground.
"The waves make the boat slightly shaky, which makes our job a bit difficult," said 3SG Bay.
"But we've been through several rehearsals and practices now, so we know that we just have to keep our 'centre of gravity' low."
Water will be heavily used during the entire NDP - as water screens and fountains to enhance the visual impact of the performance.
With such a large water body around the floating platform, safety will naturally be of paramount concern. But the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) is ready for any possible contingencies.
There will be 10 safety boats on duty in the Marina Bay. On board every vessel will be a coxswain, two lifeguards from Singapore Life Guard Corps and a medic.
Also part of the water safety team will be two fire-fighting boats with a coxswain and three Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) personnel.
And just to be doubly sure, every performer crossing the Walk on Water (WOW) bridge and Actor bridge will don a life jacket underneath their colourful costumes.
Speaking to cyberpioneer, Lieutenant-Colonel (LTC) Chua Siew Boon, Chairman of Show Safety and Contingency, said: "The challenge of ensuring water safety here lies in the fact that this is a new place. We need to understand the constraints and the environmental hazards around the floating platform."
Should anyone fall into the water, the nearest safety boat will rescue the victim before sending him to the nearest medical post - either under the Benjamin Sheares Bridge or in front of UOB Plaza.
On way to the medical post, the patient will be assessed by the medic in the boat before the medical officers on duty at the post attend to him upon reaching the post.
Two ambulances will be on stand-by at each medical post, ready to send the patient to the Singapore General Hospital for treatment, if necessary.
Third Sergeant (3SG) Maurice Bay, who will be one of the medics attached to the safety boats, said that all the medics went for a refresher course at SAFTI Military Institute recently.
But he noted that administering first aid on the boat is not as easy as doing it on flat ground.
"The waves make the boat slightly shaky, which makes our job a bit difficult," said 3SG Bay.
"But we've been through several rehearsals and practices now, so we know that we just have to keep our 'centre of gravity' low."
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