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Carelessness caused fires
Cigarette butts, stoves and altar candles spell trouble for firefighters
By Esther Tan
PHOTO: SCDF
View more photos
BLAME man for the record number of bush fires here this year. Blame careless smokers who toss lit cigarette butts into vegetation. 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.
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)
... more
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.
Read the full story in today's edition of The Straits TImes.
Cigarette butts, stoves and altar candles spell trouble for firefighters
By Esther Tan
PHOTO: SCDF
View more photos
BLAME man for the record number of bush fires here this year. Blame careless smokers who toss lit cigarette butts into vegetation. 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.
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)
... more
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.
Read the full story in today's edition of The Straits TImes.
