Instead asking why the Familee has no trouble losing $260B in a few months while refusing to spend $ on fire fighting helicopters to douse bush fires!
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Carelessness behind 95% of bush fires
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Cigarette butts, stoves and altar candles spell trouble for firefighters </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Esther Tan
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PHOTO: SCDF
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->BLAME man for the record number of bush fires here this year.
Blame careless smokers who toss lit cigarette butts into vegetation.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story --><STYLE type=text/css> #related .quote {background-color:#E7F7FF; padding:8px;margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;} #related .quote .headline {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold; border-bottom:3px double #007BFF; color:#036; text-transform:uppercase; padding-bottom:5px;} #related .quote .text {font-size:11px;color:#036;padding:5px 0px;} </STYLE>Hot spots
THE Singapore Civil Defence Force has identified the following locations as areas commonly hit by bush fires since the start of the year:
Tampines Expressway (near Punggol Road), Punggol Way, Punggol Field and Sengkang (38 times)
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Blame those who leave behind lit candles and burnt offerings at makeshift altars.
Blame those who decide to cook out in the open using charcoal stoves.
They accounted for 95 per cent of the 339 bush fires so far this year.
There were 182 such fires last month, compared to 24 in January last year, a 'very alarming' situation, according to the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).
Unthinking actions, coupled with the dry season, have resulted in a huge waste of firefighting resources, said the SCDF's director of operations, Colonel Anwar Abdullah.
The remaining 5 per cent of bush fires are caused naturally - when dry grass rub and trigger sparks, leading to spontaneous combustion, or when they are hit by lightning.
How easy it is to put out a fire depends on the thickness of the vegetation, the gradient of the land and how windy it is.
The more an area is covered in vegetation, the more deep-seated is the fire, said Col Anwar.
If it is burning on a hill, that also makes it tougher for firemen, as they have to haul water hoses up the slope, he said.
It could take an hour to bring under control a fire that has spread over an area the size of two or three football fields.
The SCDF has drawn up a list of more than 15 'hot spots' for bush fires.
The 'hottest' areas encompass Punggol Way, Punggol Field and Sengkang, and stretch along the Tampines Expressway near Punggol Road. The expressway area near Punggol Way and Punggol Field has been scorched 38 times.
But even confined strips of vegetation located on expressway road dividers, along the Kranji Expressway for example, have been razed by fire.
Col Anwar said the SCDF has been working with government agencies such as National Parks Board, the HDB and the Singapore Land Authority to put in place measures to curb the spread of bush fires.
The SCDF is looking at extending the existing hydrant main systems into large vegetated areas to shorten the distance between bush fires and the water supplies needed to put them out for firefighters.
In addition, it has created land buffers - by trimming short the vegetation - along the periphery of some residential areas, near forests, to prevent the spread of fires.
But the cause of fire by human activities remains the main concern of the SCDF.
It advises the public to avoid throwing lighted materials, such as cigarette butts and matches, on grass patches and fields.
It also warns against dumping trash on vacant land, as this can provide an additional source of fuel in the event of a fire. [email protected]
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Carelessness behind 95% of bush fires
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Cigarette butts, stoves and altar candles spell trouble for firefighters </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Esther Tan
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
PHOTO: SCDF
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<TABLE><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->BLAME man for the record number of bush fires here this year.
Blame careless smokers who toss lit cigarette butts into vegetation.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story --><STYLE type=text/css> #related .quote {background-color:#E7F7FF; padding:8px;margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;} #related .quote .headline {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold; border-bottom:3px double #007BFF; color:#036; text-transform:uppercase; padding-bottom:5px;} #related .quote .text {font-size:11px;color:#036;padding:5px 0px;} </STYLE>Hot spots
THE Singapore Civil Defence Force has identified the following locations as areas commonly hit by bush fires since the start of the year:
Tampines Expressway (near Punggol Road), Punggol Way, Punggol Field and Sengkang (38 times)
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Blame those who leave behind lit candles and burnt offerings at makeshift altars.
Blame those who decide to cook out in the open using charcoal stoves.
They accounted for 95 per cent of the 339 bush fires so far this year.
There were 182 such fires last month, compared to 24 in January last year, a 'very alarming' situation, according to the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).
Unthinking actions, coupled with the dry season, have resulted in a huge waste of firefighting resources, said the SCDF's director of operations, Colonel Anwar Abdullah.
The remaining 5 per cent of bush fires are caused naturally - when dry grass rub and trigger sparks, leading to spontaneous combustion, or when they are hit by lightning.
How easy it is to put out a fire depends on the thickness of the vegetation, the gradient of the land and how windy it is.
The more an area is covered in vegetation, the more deep-seated is the fire, said Col Anwar.
If it is burning on a hill, that also makes it tougher for firemen, as they have to haul water hoses up the slope, he said.
It could take an hour to bring under control a fire that has spread over an area the size of two or three football fields.
The SCDF has drawn up a list of more than 15 'hot spots' for bush fires.
The 'hottest' areas encompass Punggol Way, Punggol Field and Sengkang, and stretch along the Tampines Expressway near Punggol Road. The expressway area near Punggol Way and Punggol Field has been scorched 38 times.
But even confined strips of vegetation located on expressway road dividers, along the Kranji Expressway for example, have been razed by fire.
Col Anwar said the SCDF has been working with government agencies such as National Parks Board, the HDB and the Singapore Land Authority to put in place measures to curb the spread of bush fires.
The SCDF is looking at extending the existing hydrant main systems into large vegetated areas to shorten the distance between bush fires and the water supplies needed to put them out for firefighters.
In addition, it has created land buffers - by trimming short the vegetation - along the periphery of some residential areas, near forests, to prevent the spread of fires.
But the cause of fire by human activities remains the main concern of the SCDF.
It advises the public to avoid throwing lighted materials, such as cigarette butts and matches, on grass patches and fields.
It also warns against dumping trash on vacant land, as this can provide an additional source of fuel in the event of a fire. [email protected]
