When an emergency situation occurs in Singapore, it should be remembered that the responders are not just trained regulars, but young men performing their National Service too.

They were called into action to battle a blazing fire that affected an oil storage tank at Pulau Busing on March 20.

Fire offshore

Pulau Busing is an island off Singapore's south coast, which houses oil and chemical storage facilities.

The SCDF posted on Facebook that it was first alerted to the fire at about 5:50pm on March 20.

SCDF vehicles were deployed to Pasir Panjang Ferry Terminal, boarding a craft to take them to Pulau Busing.

Members of the Company Emergency Response Team (CERT) began conducting fire-fighting operations.

As the night wore on, more resources were deployed to combat the blaze. The SCDF updated that their Large Monitors (Big Guns) were being deployed.

Commissioner of the SCDF Eric Yap, Permanent Secretary (Home Affairs) Pang Kin Keong and Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam were all at the scene to assess the situation.

At about 11:46pm, the SCDF released a "final update" on Facebook:

"After approximately 6 hours of intense firefighting operations, the raging oil storage tank fire was extinguished by the combined efforts of SCDF Emergency Responders and CERT members."

It confirmed that 31 fire-fighting and support vehicles, as well as 128 personnel were involved in the "massive operation".

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CERT worked with SCDF Emergency Responders, the Police Coast Guard, the Republic of Singapore Navy, the National Environment Agency, and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore to contain the situation.

It also shared a few pictures of the fire fighters taking turns to rest and recuperate before being sent back to battle the flames.

This update received over 4,300 reactions and 1,700 shares as of 1600hrs on March 21.

A grateful nation

Following the welcome news that the fire had been extinguished and no casualties were reported, plaudits quickly poured in from members of the public.

They were led by Shanmugam, who posted his own tribute to the fire fighters in a Facebook post:

"SCDF had to ship the necessary equipment and vehicles to the island, in waves. Five unmanned water monitors were quickly deployed to cool the adjacent oil tanks, preventing the fire from spreading.

SCDF had to be meticulous and precise in planning and operations - so that the fire appliances like foam monitors targeted the necessary areas.

The raging fire was fully extinguished, after six hours of battling it.

A complex operation. But SCDF planned and executed well. 

There were no reported casualties.

An incredible job by SCDF."

Other members of the public commented on the SCDF's updates on Facebook and shared the post with their own tributes.

Let's hope it will be a long time until the next emergency, but when it does happen, the SCDF will be on hand with a quick response.

Top image adapted from SCDF's Facebook page.

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