SINGAPORE — While the number of false alarm calls fell last year, the total number of calls to emergency medical services still went up 11.9 per cent, driven largely by a surge in Covid-19-related calls.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force handled 213,615 calls in 2021 and the majority were emergency calls.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), in releasing its annual statistics on Friday (Feb 11), said that it handled 213,615 calls in 2021, up from 190,882 in 2020. About 90 per cent of the calls in both years were emergency calls.
It said that there was a noticeable increase in Covid-19-related calls from September to November last year when SCDF officers responded to 63,000 calls — a 36.5 per cent jump compared to the same period in 2020.
Non-emergency calls also went up by 2.4 per cent last year to 9,050, bucking the downward trend of such calls since 2018.
SCDF attributed this increase to suspected Covid-19 cases, which were later assessed to be non-emergencies and the persons did not need to be taken to the hospital.
For false alarm calls, these dropped by 8.1 per cent to 5,598. These refer to incidents where calls were cancelled or where no patients were found at the incident scenes when the ambulance crew arrived.
Fires involving active mobility devices declined significantly by 19.1 per cent last year, from 68 to 55 cases.
These fires included incidents involving personal mobility devices (PMDs), which saw a 23.8 per cent drop, and power assisted bicycles (PABs), which decreased by 11.5 per cent.
About half or 30 fires involving PMDs and PABs occurred at residential units.
Overall, SCDF responded to 1,844 fire calls last year, a 1.8 per cent drop from 1,877 the year before.
Fires that originated from electrical faults formed the majority of these cases, accounting for 588 cases or 31.9 per cent. This was followed by incidents related to cooking activities, making up 22.1 per cent of cases or 408.
Out of the total cases, 1,010 fire incidents last year occurred in homes, dropping slightly from 1,054 cases in 2020.
The largest contributor of fire incidents in homes was unattended cooking, making up 358 cases, a slight dip from the 375 cases in 2020.
The number of electrical fires, the next biggest contributor of residential fires, rose slightly by 2.7 per cent to 192 cases in 2021. Fires involving household contents jumped by 10.2 per cent to 183 cases.
Fire incidents involving discarded items fell significantly by 24.9 per cent to 145 cases. SCDF attributed this to ongoing efforts by the National Fire and Emergency Preparedness Council to engage town councils and educate the public on fire prevention measures.
The remaining fire incidents last year split almost equally between non-residential premises and non-building places, such as vegetations and vehicle fires.
Among non-residential premises, fire incidents in commercial premises jumped 21.1 per cent to 212 cases, while those in industrial premises saw a 0.8 increase to 131 cases. Fires in social and communal premises slid 11.1 per cent to 72.
The number of overall injuries saw a slight increase from 184 in 2020 to 194 last year. The number of fatalities also increased to three, all of which involved residential fire incidents, up from a single case in 2020.
SCDF conducted 11,075 enforcement checks last year, up from 9,833 the year before.
The number of fire hazard abatement notices issued went up to 2,555, compared to 2,213 the year before. These notices are given to building owners or responsible parties to fix fire hazards.
The number of notices of fire safety offences, which are issued for more serious fire safety breaches and attract heavier penalties, went down from 1,560 to 1,161.
There were 94 cases of fire safety violations prosecuted in court last year. Almost half or 45 were due to unauthorised change of use of premises, while 22 cases involved unauthorised fire safety works.
SCDF on Friday also launched the ninth edition of its emergency handbook.
The book, which is available in four languages, now includes fire emergency tips relating to solar panels and electric vehicles, both of which have become more popular among consumers in recent years.
A checklist for home fire safety is also included in this edition to help people better prevent fire occurrences at home.
The handbook can be found online and through the myResponder mobile application.
Goodnight, gritty horror film!
With more than 72 hours of footage uploaded every minute, it’s physically impossible to keep track of the content on YouTube. In YouTube Guide, the Daily Dot will curate its five favorite finds for each workday.
1) Gritty Reboots, “Goodnight Moon: The Movie (Trailer)”
A beloved children’s literary classic is turned into a creepy horror film as one person finds himself in a mysterious room (with plenty of details from the book) with a hushing girl as his only companion.
2) Slacktory, “All the Cougar Town title card jokes”
The creators of Cougar Town have tried (and failed) to change the name of their show over the years, so they settled for the next best thing. In almost every title card they’ve managed to poke fun of the show name they love to hate.
3) Moving Mind Studio, “Awkward Handshake: The Game”
The most awkward part of meeting someone has now been turned into a first-person video game. Your character will have to interact with coworkers, old friends, strangers, and female friends
4) guyismdotcom, “Game of Thrones’ King of One-Liners: A Tribute to Tyrion”
Peter Dinklage’s portrayal of Tyrion Lannister on Game of Thrones is a fan favorite, and it’s easy to see why. He’s got the best lines, and Guyism put his best zingers into one burn o a video.
5) AsapSCIENCE, “Why Do We Cry?”
It’s normal for our eyes to water up when they’re irritated or to stay moist, but it’s a solely human reaction to cry when we’re sad. It’s a way for us to let others know how we’re feeling, and according to one theory it’s a way to let out stress.
Photo via GrittyReboots/YouTube
Pure, uncut internet. Straight to your inbox.
 If I’m lazy, I feel like a waste of space and a freeloader. No better than a leech, and even those had a thought to be useful purpose. If I attempt to better myself, every little error or mistake I make, shuts me down and I feel like failure. I try to cut, to bleed and die slowly, as a form of penance for my perceived sins. Then I’m bombarded by images of what my post-death would be for my loved ones. The pain and anguish they might feel, haunts me, and adds to the shitpile. 

I used to suffer from existential crises every night also, while drifting from atheism to agnosticism. Though recently, I have witnessed two very specific, very personal miracles that have led me to have faith again, organically. Though it could be me trying to latch on to coincidences as being more than what they are, but who knows? Though my depression does make feel like jumping into Christianity’s Hell fire pit when I die, as another avenue to seek penance.MIDDLETOWN — The third annual half marathon and Legends Run sponsored by Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and the Hartford Marathon Foundation will be held Sunday, April 12.
The event will include a kids race, beginning at 10:45 a.m., a half marathon and a four-mile race. The two longer races both start at 11:30 a.m.
All three races begin and end on Main Street.
Hartford Marathon Executive Director Beth Shluger said running legends Kathrine Switzer, Amby Burfoot and Jeff Galloway will participate in several events on April 11 and April 12 for the event. All three will attend a "Learn from the Legends" meet and greet and discussion at Middletown city hall, 245 deKoven Drive, April 11 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Participants are also invited to attend a free fun run with Galloway on Saturday morning at 8:30, and Galloway will also host a running school session (with registration required) from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Galloway and Burfoot will participate in the race Sunday.
Organizers are also holding a food drive to benefit the Amazing Grace Food Pantry, encouraging runners to bring non-perishable food items including canned soup, macaroni and cheese, tuna fish and peanut butter.
After the races are over, there will be a street party on Main Street with local food and drinks.
Other race sponsors are Eli Cannon's Tap Room, NoRA Cupcake Company, Middlesex Hospital and Mondo Restaurant.
The police department said road closures in the downtown area will begin at 7:30 a.m. on race day. The half marathon course includes portions of streets in and around Wesleyan University, Wadsworth Street, Long Lane, Pine Street and Laurel Grove Road.
For more information, course maps and registration go to.