Central Enforcement Dept - SCDF · • A CERT comprises at least 6 members, namely 1 SMC, 1 SIC and 4 Response Team members or more to sufficiently handle emergency situations effectively

Central Enforcement Dept

MAJOR FIRES INVOLVING PIBS

East village Hotel Fire

16th July 2012

50 evacuated

9 casualties

NUS Laboratory Fire

13th August 2012

1 male warded for

smoke injury

Afro Asia Building Fire

11th August 2011

1 dead

Newton MRT Station Fire

13th Feb 2013

15,000 commuters

affected

INTRODUCTION


Company Emergency Response Team

(C.E.R.T)

CERT is a group of personnel selected by a

company to be competently trained in

preventing any emergency from escalating into

a major disaster.

CERT Primary Role:

To mitigate and control an emergency situation

of affected premises during the initial stages

prior to SCDF’s arrival.


POTENTIAL DISASTER AVERTED DUE TO CERT

EARLY INTERVENTION


Description of Incident:

On 12th November 2011, lightning struck

the roof of a crude oil tank in ExxonMobil

Refinery which resulted in 2 areas of the

tank’s rim seal to catch fire.

End Result:

ExxonMobil CERT successfully

prevented the escalation of fire,

cooperated well with SCDF’s responder

to mitigated the incident efficiently

Aerial view of oil tank TK5401 during operation

NEW REGULATIONS


The Fire Safety Act (FSA) is being amended in 2013, to allow

SCDF to extend the CERT scheme to designated Public and

Industrial Buildings (PIBs).

For designated buildings with Fire Safety Managers (FSMs), the

FSMs are required to convert the competencies of in-house fire

fighting teams to form Company Emergency Response Teams

(CERTs).

Designated buildings that currently have Fire Emergency Plans

(FEP) are required to put in place “Emergency Response Plans”

(ERP). This will require owners of designated buildings to cater for

all emergencies, apart from fires, that may cause injury or loss of

lives.

PIB CERT SCHEME

VIDEO INTRODUCTION

VIDEO_TS/CERT Video.VOB

Public Premises *

(i) are of 9 storeys or more (including any basement) in height;

(ii) are used, constructed or adapted to be used as a hospital;

(iii) have a floor area of 5,000 square metres or more; or

(iv) have an occupancy load of 1,000 persons or more. *includes commercial premises

Industrial Premises

(i) have a floor area or site area of 5,000 square metres or

more; or

(ii) have an occupancy load of 1,000 persons or more.


What types of premises are affected and will be

required to form CERT???

All specified premises that are required to appoint a FSM would be

required to form CERT

• Hotels

• Health Institutions

• Shopping Malls

• Large Community Clubs

• Resorts

• Sports Complexes

• Convention / Exhibition Halls

• Government Bldgs

• Commercial Offices

• Existing P&FM Premises

• MRT Stations

• Industrial Premises

• Single / Multi tenanted

Factories


What types of premises are affected and will be

required to form CERT???

Shopping malls &

Convention halls

Commercial offices

Industrial premises

MRT stations

National CERT Standard


• To define the different levels of

competencies and equipping required by

the different types of CERTs:

CERTs for P&FM premises

CERTs for PIB premises

V-CERTs

Community CERTs

The key outcomes from the implementation

of the national CERT standard will be a

standardisation of CERTs across the different

categories, uniformity in skills competency

and equipping, and clarity in its expected

roles and performance.

NATIONAL CERT STANDARD


CERT REQUIREMENTS


CERT MANPOWER

Minimum manpower required is

6 staff (1 SMC, 1 SIC & 4 ERT members)

Site Main Controller (SMC)

Site Incident Controller (SIC)

Response Team (RT)

• A CERT comprises at least 6 members, namely 1 SMC, 1 SIC and 4 Response

Team members or more to sufficiently handle emergency situations effectively.

• The organizational structure of CERT is divided into 3 main levels:

The SMC will be responsible for the overall management of the CERT

The SIC is the leader of the Response Team Members

The RT are personnel directly involve in the groundwork of the emergency

response.

CERT ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES


Site Main Controller (SMC)

SMC is the senior member of the installation / premises management. He is the person who is

overall in-charge of the emergency response operations in the installation / premises and liaises with

senior officials of government agencies such as SCDF, SPF, NEA, etc.

The Key Responsibilities of the SMC includes:

1. Coordinate the activities of external emergency organizations and work closely with the Incident

Manager at TACT HQ during consequence management;

2. Provide TACT HQ with the following information:

a. Site Layout Map

b. Building plan

c. Building Fire Protection System

d. Company / Premises Emergency Response Plan

e. HazMat inventory and location of HazMat inventory

f. Overall workers population

g. Incident resources available at site

3. Provide the Incident Manager with the necessary information on company / premises SOPs and

policies;

4. Authorize the shutdown of operations in the installation / premises (if requested by Incident

Manager);

5. Authorize the release of information to the media and government agencies; and

6. Assist the Incident Manager in determining the termination of the emergency and authorizing re-

entry upon complete recovery.



Site Incident Controller (SIC)

The Key Responsibilities of SIC includes:

1. Establishing the on-site Emergency Response Team;

2. Sizing up incident situation and recommending response / rescue

strategy and tactical plan

3. Determining incident control zones;

4. Setting up field incident command post;

5. Commanding and directing emergency response team;

6. Ensuring emergency responders safety and monitor personnel

fatigue and stress;

7. Deploying emergency equipment and appliances;

8. Directing rescue operations if necessary;

9. Maintaining constant communication with SMC and the

emergency responders;

10. Working closely with SCDF ground officer;

11. Ensuring proper decontamination of the equipment and

responders; and

12. Coordinating recovery activities.

He is overall in-charge of the actual ground response operations. He / She is to provide

assistance and information to SCDF ground commander during operation.



Response Team (RT)

The Key Responsibilities of RT includes:

1. Conduct basic emergency response actions such as fire fighting

and HazMat mitigation under the command of SIC;

2. Assists in emergency notification of to all personnel, occupants and

neighboring premises and conduct public protective actions under

the command of SIC;

3. Accounting for personnel inside and outside of the hazard risk zone

under the command of SIC / SMC and assist SIC / SMC to ensure

on the smooth and orderly evacuation of all company’s employees

/ premises occupants by guiding them to designated Evacuees

Assembly Area (EAA);

4. Implementing In-Place Protection (IPP) within the workplace /

buildings under the command of SIC;

5. First Aid personnel should perform basic first aid on any casualty;

6. Security wardens should secure the company premises and

facilitate rapid movement of SCDF responders upon their arrival.

The RT consists of personnel trained in basic emergency response actions such as fire

fighting, HazMat mitigation and other supporting activities such as security, evacuation, first

aid, etc.

Training Requirements


The 3 new CERT courses are:

WSQ Response to Fire Emergency in Buildings

WSQ Response to Fire and HazMat Emergency

WSQ Implement Incident Management Processes

Other than CDA, CERT training can be provided by

private service providers such as A-CERTS.

The CERT shall be trained to a level of competency to

commensurate with the response duties and functions that

they are expected to perform.

To cater to the anticipated surge in demands for CERT

training when SCDF extends its CERT’s framework to

PIBs, SCDF and WDA are collaborating to place the 3 new

CERT courses under WDA’s Workforce skills Qualifications

(WSQ) System for Emergency Response & Crisis

management (ERCM) framework.


Performance Audit

The capabilities of the CERTs will be tested and evaluated periodically by

SCDF to ensure their competencies and readiness.

The CERTs are assessed on:

1. Documentation of records:- Emergency Response Plan (ERP)

Training Records (preferred to be from WDA accredited ATO)

Equipment maintenance records

2. Effectiveness of CERT’s response during simulated practical

scenarios:- Activation and Response of CERT

Incident Size Up

Conducting Mitigation Operations

Support Activities

Linking up with SCDF Upon Arrival

Ongoing Operations & Recovery

The audits serve to identify areas of strengths, weaknesses and to

propose recommendations for improvements.

Conclusion


The formalization of the CERT scheme for PIBs’ premises will ensure

that the CERT are competently trained and equipped to handle the

incipient stage of an emergency.

This prevent the escalation of any incidents and facilitate operational

synergy with SCDF

Documents

Central Enforcement Dept - SCDF · • A CERT comprises at least 6 members, namely 1 SMC, 1 SIC and 4 Response Team members or more to sufficiently handle emergency situations effectively