Number of fires down, non-emergency calls up: SCDF

Even as the number of fires hit a 15-year low, non-emergency calls to the Singapore Civil Defence Force's (SCDF) Emergency Ambulance Service (EAS) jumped 40.5 per cent.

To curb the growing number of non-emergency calls, the SCDF will step up public education on the use of its EAS, and urged the public to call 1777 for non-emergency services run by Private Ambulance Operators (PAOs).

Currently, 10 private emergency ambulances run by two PAOs - Lentor Ambulance and Unistrong Technology - supplement the SCDF's fleet.

Meanwhile, the SCDF recorded its lowest number of fires in 15 years, thanks to "greater public awareness on fire safety and the concerted public education efforts by the SCDF and its community partners".

There were 4,470 fires last year, down 3 per cent from 2010.

An area of concern highlighted by the SCDF was unattended cooking fires, which increased from 474 cases in 2010 to 500 last year - making up 15 per cent of residential fires.

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