SINGAPORE - He was a quiet and shy person, but he gave his best and was always smiling even when he was drenched in sweat and tired from training.
Firefighter Edward H. Go, 19, enlisted in the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) on Jan 5, 2022, and had aspirations to enrol in medical school upon completion of his national service. But on Thursday, he tragically died after fighting a fire in a rental flat at Block 91 Henderson Road.
The SCDF said he fell unconscious in the kitchen area of the fourth-storey flat. His crew took him out of the unit and tried to resuscitate him before he was taken to Singapore General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
In a statement on Friday night, SCDF said Corporal Go is the first person from the SCDF to have died during an operation. It said Cpl Go was certified medically fit before his enlistment. His medical fitness was assessed according to what is called the physical employment standard (PES), and he was categorised as PES A. Servicemen under this category are considered suitable for frontline operational vocations.
After enlisting, he trained as a firefighter for 12 weeks, from Feb 3 until April 28, the statement added. He was then posted to the Central Fire Station on May 4, and responded to more than 20 fire and rescue incidents during his time there, said the statement.
News of Cpl Go’s death led to an outpouring of grief from members of the public on social media. Those who knew him described him as a bright and brave person.
Mr Shihan Ahnaf Shoeb, 23, who trained Cpl Go in the SCDF, said the fallen firefighter was really quiet in the first month of his Basic Rescue Training. He said: “But over time, he started to talk more, and he always smiled. That is what I remember most about him.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singap...ing-henderson-road-blaze-was-bright-and-brave
