November 19, 2018, 04:46 PM 
In April 2017, a video of a firefighter walking away from a car explosion went viral in Singapore.
Buona Vista explosion
The video shows a car exploding in Buona Vista, which caught the Singapore Civil Defence Force personnel off-guard:
Redditors seriously impressed
The video is making its rounds again on the internet with this Reddit thread titled, "Firefighter still standing after a car explodes right in front of him".
Many Redditors, many of whom are not from Singapore, were in awe of this firefighter:
Educating others about how NS works
In the Reddit thread, a few responses highlighted that the firefighter was a National Serviceman (NSF) from Singapore.
Some also took the opportunity to educate others about how NS works here, touching on issues such as allowance and conscription.
"$15 an hour you can suck this I'm out"
He's not even paid 15 an hour. This is in Singapore and he's a conscript. They do get paid an allowance, but it's not much especially if you're a lower rank. Something around $800 a month.
For anyone who’s interested, this happened in Singapore, April of last year.
The firefighter has probably fully recovered by now, and completed his National Service duration. (Basically mandatory drafting). So he’s most likely no longer on active duty with the force.
For those that don’t know, every male Singaporean of age (16+) is legally obligated to enter into military or para-military service. Each enlistee will be drafted into either the Army, Police Force or Civil Defence Force. They are required to serve a term of roughly 2 years, before they are considered operationally ready.
CPL Eka was most likely completing his National Service with the Civil Defence Force at the time of the explosion (The rank of CPL is usually given to enlistees 6 months before they complete their service).
Just an FYI, our firefighters go through one of the most rigorous training courses in the world. I have a ton of respect for them, as well as the paramedics in the force.
Can you pick which one you go to? Can you stay in after 2 years?
Prior to 2017, you were not allowed to pick which uniformed service you were put into. The general idea was that they would allocate manpower to wherever it was needed most. Since 2017, the Central Manpower Base has allowed for pre-enlistees to indicate their interest in vocations across all uniformed services. Pre-enlistees are able to select up to 2 different vocations in each uniformed service, and if there is space, they will be allocated to their vocation of choice. However, at the end of the day it is still up to the Central Manpower Base to decide where they allocate the pre-enlistees.
During or after your 2 years, you are able to sign-on to the service. However you're not necessarily guaranteed a position in the force. You must be physically fit and must go through yearly physicals to ensure that you maintain tip-top condition. However, our military and para-military get some of the best remuneration packages and employment benefits, so it's a very attractive career choice for many secondary education, diploma and degree holders.
Some grateful netizens thanked them for taking the time to share more:
Wholesome.
Top photo adapted from video screenshots.
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