Why it matters
Emergencies leave no time to think. In a fire, smoke can overcome a person before they reach the exit. After a fall or a crush injury, the first few minutes decide whether a worker lives. What people do in those minutes depends on what they practised.
A plan on a shelf does nothing. Your crew needs to know the alarm, the exits, the assembly point and who to call. They learn that from drills, not from a binder.
Prevent the fire first
Workplace fires often start with something ordinary. Think of overloaded sockets, damaged wiring, rags soaked in solvent, or boxes stacked against a hot motor. The WSH Council guidelines on flammable materials list these as common causes.
Fire needs fuel, heat and oxygen. Take one away and it cannot start or keep burning. In practice, that means controlling what you store and where you store it.
- Store flammable liquids in closed, labelled containers in a set storage area, away from heat and sparks.
- Put oily or solvent rags in a lidded metal bin and empty it daily.
- Keep combustibles away from heaters, motors, lights and hot work.
- Report damaged cables, scorched sockets and overloaded power boards. Take them out of use.
- Keep fire doors shut. Never wedge them open.
- Use a permit for welding, cutting and grinding.
The emergency response plan
An emergency response plan sets out what people do in a fire or other emergency. Scale it to the site. A small workshop may need two pages. A large plant needs much more.
The WSH Council guidelines list what a good plan covers. Use it as your outline:
- The site, the work done there, and how many people are on site.
- Site hazards, such as stores of flammable or hazardous substances.
- How to call SCDF, the police and neighbouring companies.
- Evacuation routes, assembly points and how to account for everyone.
- Emergency shutdown, firefighting and rescue steps.
- Emergency contacts for day and night.
- Where fire equipment, first aid kits, AEDs and breathing apparatus are kept.
- Who takes charge and how they work with SCDF when it arrives.
- How you will train people and run drills.
SCDF publishes an emergency response plan template on its ERP page. Start from it rather than writing your own from scratch.
Evacuation and drills
When the alarm sounds, people leave by the nearest safe exit and go to the assembly point. They do not stop for belongings. They do not use lifts. Wardens sweep their area, check toilets and store rooms, and report to the person in charge. The head count at the assembly point tells the fire service if anyone is missing.
Taller buildings may use a two-stage alarm. The first alarm is an alert. The second alarm means evacuate. Make sure your crew knows which system your building uses.
Drill until it is routine. Time each drill and note what went wrong. Common problems are blocked exits, people who did not hear the alarm, and a register that is out of date.
Fighting a small fire
Tackle a fire only if it is small, you have the right extinguisher, and your escape route is behind you. Raise the alarm first. If the fire does not go out quickly, leave. Close the doors behind you.
Most sites use ABC dry powder extinguishers, with CO2 near electrical equipment. Use water and foam only on wood, paper and cloth fires, never on live electrics. Pull the pin, aim at the base of the fire, squeeze the handle and sweep side to side.
Tell the person to stop, drop and roll, covering their face with their hands. Wrap them in a fire blanket if you have one. Do not spray them with a powder or CO2 extinguisher.
When a worker is injured
MOM's 2025 advisory on emergency response for injured workers sets out four steps. First, check the area is safe for you and call for help. Second, decide whether it is a medical emergency, and if so, call 995. Third, give first aid. If the worker is unresponsive, start CPR and use an AED. Fourth, stay with the worker and reassure them until help arrives.
Call 995 for unconsciousness, fits, breathing trouble, chest pain, heavy bleeding, fractures, burns and chemical splashes. Also call for falls from height, or when someone is hit or crushed by a machine, vehicle or heavy object. Do not move the worker unless they are in immediate danger.
What the rules require
Singapore spreads these duties across MOM and SCDF rules.
- Under section 12(1) of the WSH Act, employers must take reasonably practicable measures for worker safety. MOM says this includes procedures for dealing with emergencies (MOM circular, Feb 2025).
- The WSH (General Provisions) Regulations require a means of fire extinguishment that is readily accessible and tested regularly by a competent person. They also require a means of escape, kept free from obstruction (WSH Council summary).
- Under the Fire Safety Act, obstructing escape routes and failing to maintain fire safety equipment count as fire hazards (WSH Council summary).
- The Fire Safety (Emergency Response Plan) Regulations require an ERP for designated premises. These include public buildings with more than 200 occupants that hold a Fire Certificate, and industrial premises of 5,000 m² or more or with 1,000 or more occupants (SCDF).
- Premises that need a Fire Safety Manager must run at least two evacuation drills and two table-top exercises a year. Other ERP premises must run at least one drill a year (SCDF).
- Fires, explosions and other dangerous occurrences must be reported to MOM under the WSH (Incident Reporting) Regulations.
SCDF requires a Fire Safety Manager in hospitals and some large buildings. Industrial buildings qualify with 1,000 or more occupants or 5,000 m² or more of floor or site area. Public buildings qualify at 9 or more storeys, 1,000 or more occupants, or 5,000 m² or more.
Common mistakes
- Stacking pallets or materials in front of exits and fire doors.
- Extinguishers missing, hidden behind stock, or showing a gauge in the red.
- Drills run only when a visitor or auditor is due.
- No head count, or a register that misses contractors and visitors.
- Workers going back in for phones and bags.
- Nobody on the shift trained in CPR or able to find the AED.
- Night and weekend shifts left out of the plan.
Supervisors sometimes phone the office first, or drive the worker to a clinic themselves. For a medical emergency, call 995 straight away.
In other countries
- Indonesia: Kepmenaker KEP.186/MEN/1999 requires employers to prevent, reduce and put out fires, and to set up a fire response unit at the workplace. Employers must also hold regular fire drills. Workplaces with more than 50 workers, or with medium or high fire risk, must keep a written fire emergency plan.
Use it on site: the fire & emergency response checklist and the toolbox talk to brief your crew.
Sources
- Advisory on Emergency Response for Injured Workers (Circular MOM/OSHD/2025-03), Ministry of Manpower.
- WSH Guidelines on Flammable Materials, WSH Council.
- Emergency Response Plan, SCDF.
- Fire Safety Manager (FSM), SCDF.
- KEP.186/MEN/1999 tentang Unit Penanggulangan Kebakaran di Tempat Kerja, Ministry of Manpower, Indonesia (copy hosted by Damkar Kota Dumai).
This is practical guidance, not legal advice. Laws and codes of practice change; always check the current official text and your site's own procedures.
