Company Emergency

Response Team
CPT Chu Yiu Tak
Team Leader, Audit Team
Central Enforcement Department
Singapore Civil Defence Force
Email: chu_yiu_tak@scdf.gov.sg
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 CERT
• Legislative Requirement
• Introduction to CERT
• Roles and Responsibilities of SMC/SIC/ERT
• Audit Requirement
• Useful Resources

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Legislative Requirement

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 Legislative Requirement
• Fire Safety Act
– Section 22 (Fire safety managers and Company
Emergency Response Teams)
• Fire Safety (Petroleum and Flammable
Materials) Regulations
• Fire Safety (Company Emergency Response
Team) Regulations 2013
• Fire Safety (Premises Requiring Fire Safety
Manager and Company Emergency Response
Team) Notification 2013
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 Fire Safety Act
• Section 22 (Fire safety managers and Company
Emergency Response Teams)
1) The Minister may, by notification in the Gazette,
specify any premises or class of premises in which
the owner or occupier of the premises is required to
appoint fire safety managers and Company
Emergency Response Teams in respect of such
premises or class of premises.
2) The owner or occupier of the premises shall ensure
that the fire safety measures and fire safety practices
of such premises comply with the requirements of
this Act.

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 Fire Safety Act
• Section 22 (Fire safety managers and Company
Emergency Response Teams)
3) The fire safety manager and Company Emergency
Response Team of the premises shall assist the
owner or occupier of the premises in the
performance of his duties under this Act.
3A) The owner or occupier of the premises shall
establish and maintain a Company Emergency
Response Team comprising such number of
members as the Commissioner may, by notice in
writing to the owner or occupier of the premises,
specify.

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 Fire Safety Act
• Section 22 (Fire safety managers and Company
Emergency Response Teams)
4) Any person who contravenes this section shall be
guilty of an offence.
• Section 22AA (Meaning of owner or occupier in
this Part)
– In this Part, where a building or premises is a
building erected on land comprised in a strata
subdivision plan approved by the competent
authority, references to the owner or occupier of the
building or premises shall not include references to
the subsidiary proprietors or tenants of any part of
the building or premises.

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 Fire Safety (P&FM) Regulations
• Regulation 25 (Provision of Company Emergency
Response Teams)
1) Where any licensed premises are used to store or keep
• (a) more than 5,000 litres of petroleum;
• (b) more than 5,000 litres of liquid flammable material;
• (c) more than 5,000 kg of solid flammable material;
• (d) more than 5,000 kg of gaseous flammable material; or
• (e) substances which are in mixed states, the aggregate
weight of which is more than 5,000 kg,
the storage licensee for the licensed premises shall establish and
maintain an in-house, on-site Company Emergency Response
Team (referred to in this regulation as the Team) comprising
such number of persons as the Commissioner may direct.

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 Fire Safety (P&FM) Regulations
• Regulation 25 (Provision of Company Emergency
Response Teams)
2) Such storage licensee shall ensure that the Team is
competent in handling incidents involving any
petroleum or flammable material in the event of any
fire, explosion, leakage or other similar emergency.
3) The Commissioner may at any time require the
storage licensee to send any member of the Team
for its licensed premises to take and pass, at such
frequency as the Commissioner may determine, such
competency tests as the Commissioner may specify.

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 Fire Safety (P&FM) Regulations
• Regulation 25 (Provision of Company Emergency
Response Teams)
4) If any of the member of the Team fails to pass any
competency test referred to in paragraph (3), the
storage licensee shall not deploy or shall cease to
deploy the person as a member of the Team until
such time the person has successfully passed the
competency test.
5) The Commissioner may subject the Team to periodic
assessment of the emergency preparedness of the
Team at such frequency as may be determined by
the Commissioner.

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Fire Safety (CERT) Regulations 2013
• Regulation 4 (Functions and duties of CERT)
4) The functions and duties of a CERT for specified premises
shall be to —
a) assist the owner or occupier of the premises to carry out their duties in
relation to the Emergency Response Plan under section 21 of the Act;
b) undergo such training and pass such training or periodic assessments as the
Commissioner may specify;
c) train the occupants of the premises for emergency preparedness;
d) conduct initial fire-fighting and rescue operations in the event of fire or
other related emergencies at the premises until the arrival of the SCDF fire-
fighting crew;
e) hand over the fire-fighting operations to the SCDF fire-fighting crew upon
their arrival at the premises;
f) assist the SCDF fire-fighting crew in the conduct of fire-fighting and rescue
operations, if required;
g) provide any other assistance as may be required by the SCDF to mitigate the
fire or other related emergency; and
h) carry out such duties and provide such information relating to emergency
planning for the premises as the Commissioner may require.

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Introduction to CERT

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 Introduction to CERT
• Company Emergency Response Team
• Team Structure
• CERT Standby Hours
• Responsibilities
• Training Requirement
• Medical Screening Requirement
• Equipping Requirement
• Tier Classification
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 Company Emergency Response Team
• Public and Industrial premises that meet any
of the following criteria are required to have a
FSM and a CERT
• A premises may still be required to have a Fire
Certificate, maintain an Emergency Response
Plan and to form a Fire Safety Committee even
if the premise does not need a FSM or a CERT
• Refer to Fire Safety Act for definition of Public
and Industrial premises
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 Company Emergency Response Team
(a) 9 storeys or more (b) GFA 5000m2 (c) Site area 5000m2

(d) Occupant Load ≥ 1000 (e) P&FM ≥ 5 metric tons (f) Hospital

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 Company Emergency Response Team
• Public Premises
– 9 storeys or more (including basement), or;
– Gross floor area 5000 square metres or more, or;
– Designed occupancy load 1000 persons or more, or;
– Licensed by MOH as a hospital
• Industrial Premises
– Site area or GFA 5000 square metres or more, or;
– Designed occupancy load 1000 persons or more
• Petroleum & Flammable Material Premises
– Stores 5 metric tons or more of P&FM

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 Team Structure

Site Main Site Incident Emergency Response

Controller Controller Team Members

Anybody can be a CERT member,

regardless of age or gender.

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 Team Structure
• 1 x Site Main Controller (SMC)
• 1 x Site Incident Controller (SIC)
• 4 x Response Team Members (ERT Members)
• These are minimum requirement, larger or
riskier premises should consider having a
larger CERT if possible

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 Team Structure
(during emergencies)
Site Main
Controller

Site Incident Fire Safety

Controller Manager

ERT ERT ERT ERT Fire

Member Member Member Member Wardens

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 CERT Standby Hours
• When is CERT required at the premise?
– During operating hours
• SMC
– Usual working hours of the individual (e.g. office hours)
– Recalled and to arrive at premise within 1 hour of incident
• SIC & ERT Members
– Must be available during all operating hours of premise
– E.g. office hours for office buildings, 9am-11pm for
shopping malls, 24 hours for 24 hours production plants
– Can be rotated if on shift work as long as response team
manpower requirement is met

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 Responsibilities
• SMC
– Key decision maker
– Point of contact with government agencies
– Authorise operation shutdown & evacuation
• SIC
– Response Team leader
– Link between SMC & RT (and FSM)
• ERT Members
– Provide emergency response
– Conduct evacuation
– Implement In-Place Protection
– Provide first aid

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 Responsibilities
Room filled with smoke

Intense fire

These are not incipient stages of an incident.

CERT is not expected to handle incidents at this level.
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 Responsibilities
Not responding to incipient incidents
causes unnecessary threats to lives
and results in property damage
and business disruption.

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Responsibilities

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 Responsibilities

Responding to incipient incidents

reduces property damage and
minimises business disruption

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Responsibilities

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 Responsibilities
Fire from a small object can cause a lot of damage.

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 Training Requirement
• SMC
– WSQ Implement Incident Management Processes
• SIC
– WSQ Implement Incident Management Processes
– WSQ Respond to Fire (Same as ERT members)
• ERT Members
– WSQ Respond to Fire & HazMat Emergency (3 days)
– WSQ Respond to Fire Emergency in Buildings (2 days)
– WSQ Respond to Fire Incident in Workplaces (1 day)

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 Medical Screening Requirement
• Anyone can sign up for the courses as long as the
person is generally fit for light physical activities
• Fitness checklist based on Sports Council PAR-Q
• No medical screening required for
– WSQ Implement Incident Management Processes
– WSQ Respond to Fire Incident in Workplaces (1 day)
• If individual clears self assessment fitness checklist, no
medical screening required for
– WSQ Respond to Fire Emergency in Buildings (2 days)
– WSQ Respond to Fire & HazMat Emergency (3 days)
• Doctor certificate of fitness based on revised guidelines
• Download checklist and guidelines from SCDF website

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Equipping Requirement

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 Equipping Requirement
• Personal Protective Equipment
– Fire retardant gloves, safety boots, helmets
– Refer to CERT table for details
• Mitigation
– Relevant mitigation equipment (refer to table)
• First Aid
– First aid kit, stretcher, blanket & AED
• Communication
– Loud hailer & Walkie-talkie
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 Tier Classification
• Tier 1
– P&FM Premises
– High Risk Installations classified by SCDF
• Tier 2
– Premises storing less than 5 metric tons of P&FM
– Premises storing petrol in underground tanks
– Premises storing only diesel in aboveground tanks
• Tier 3
– Premises storing only diesel in underground tanks
– All other FSM premises

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Roles and Responsibilities of a
Site Main Controller /
Site Incident Controller /
Response Team Member

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 Team Structure
(during emergencies)
Site Main
Controller

Site Incident Fire Safety

Controller Manager

ERT ERT ERT ERT Fire

Member Member Member Member Wardens

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 Responsibilities
• SMC
– Key decision maker
– Point of contact with government agencies
– Authorise operation shutdown & evacuation
• SIC
– Response Team leader
– Link between SMC & RT (and FSM)
• ERT Members
– Provide emergency response
– Conduct evacuation
– Implement In-Place Protection
– Provide first aid

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 Responsibilities of the SMC
• SMC is the senior member of the installation /
premises management
• Trained in incident management
• In charge of the overall emergency response
operations in the premise
• Liaises with senior officials of government
agencies such as SCDF, SPF, NEA, MOM

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 Responsibilities of the SMC
1. Coordinate the activities of external emergency organizations
and work closely with the Incident Manager at during
consequence management

2. Provide Incident Manager with the following information:

– Site Layout Map
– Building plan
– Building Fire Protection System
– Company / Premises Emergency Response Plan
– HazMat inventory and location of HazMat inventory
– Overall workers population
– Incident resources available at site
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 Responsibilities of the SMC
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

6. Assist the Incident Manager in determining the termination

of the emergency and authorize re-entry upon recovery

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 Responsibilities of the SIC
• SIC is the Emergency Response Team leader
• Trained in both incident management as well
as incident mitigation
• In charge of ground response operations at
incident site
• Assist SCDF ground commander and officers

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 Responsibilities of the SIC
1. Size up situation and recommend response strategy

2. Determine incident control zones

3. Lead and establish tasks for Emergency Response Team

4. Ensure safety of ERT members

5. Maintain constant communication with SMC and ERT members

6. Work with SCDF ground officer

7. Coordinate recovery activities

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 Responsibilities of ERT members
• ERT consists of personnel trained in basic
emergency response such as evacuation, fire
fighting and implementing in place protection
• Trained in incident mitigation
• ERT made up of minimum 1 SIC + 4 members
• Always work in a section of at least 2 persons

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 Responsibilities of ERT members
1. Investigate fire alarms and locate incident site

2. Conduct basic emergency response actions such as:

– Evacuation
– Fire fighting
– Basic First Aid
– Contain HazMat leaks
– Implement in place protection

3. Isolate incident if unable to mitigate

4. Direct SCDF officers to incident site

5. Account for personnel in premise

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Audit Requirement

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 Audit Requirement
• Premises audited at most once a year
• Help premises improve their CERT and ERP
• Checks documentation, training and practical
components
• Audit starts WY15/16 with revised checklist
• Transparent assessment
– Audit Checklist available on SCDF website
– Assessment criteria will be based on checklist

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 Audit Requirement
• Penalties for failure
– Re-audit
– Revoke of P&FM storage license
– Offence liable for fine and/or imprisonment if
CERT is not formed

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 Audit Process
APRIL 2015 MAY 2015
Notification 1 2 3 4 Audit Discussion 1 2
Letter & Drill Planning
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
+
12 13 14 15 16 17 18 10 11 12 13 14 15
Documentation 16
19 20 21 22 23 24 25 17 18 Audit
19 20 21 22 23
Table Top
26 27 28 29 30 24 25 26 27 28 & 29
Exercise 30
31 Fire Warden
JUNE 2015 Briefing
1 CERT
2 Audit
3 +4 5 6 1 June 2015
Evacuation Drill
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 8.30am – Drill set up
9.30am – CERT audit + evacuation drill
14 15 16 17 18 19 20 + joint exercise with SCDF
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 11am – End of drill
Audit Report 11.15am – Debrief
28 29 30
11.30am – Pack up & end of audit

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 Useful Resources
• http://www.scdf.gov.sg
– Briefing slides
– Regulations
– List of licensed P&FM
– List of Accredited Training Organisations
– National CERT standard guidelines
– CERT audit checklist
– Frequently Asked Questions (and answers)

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Useful Resources

Available on SCDF Website

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Useful Resources

Updated regularly
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 END

CPT Chu Yiu Tak

Central Enforcement Department
Singapore Civil Defence Force
Updated 10/11/2014

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