SCDF officer, 39, gets 6 months' jail for leaving NSF, 19, alone in fatal Henderson Rd fire

While fighting a fire at Henderson Road, a senior Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officer left another firefighter to battle the blaze alone.

He'd felt dizzy from the heat and wanted to rest, the court heard.

The full-time national serviceman (NSF), 19-year-old Edward Go, was later found unconscious.

He died the same day.

Muhammad Kamil Mohamed Yasin, 39, pleaded guilty on Jan. 15 to one charge of grievous hurt to Go.

He was sentenced to six months' jail.

Left alone

Kamil, who'd been a firefighter since 2008 and was Go's supervisor, knew that according to protocol, firefighters must never operate alone, and minimally in pairs.

During the blaze on Dec. 8, 2022, Kamil entered the unit with Go and a third firefighter.

As the highest-ranking firefighter on scene, Kamil assumed control.

The third firefighter soon began to feel fatigued and asked to leave.

Kamil agreed.

But several minutes later, he began to feel dizzy from the heat and decided to rest.

He tapped Go on the back, gave him a thumbs up, and left him alone in the flat.

At the time, the fire was still going on.

Wanted to rest

However, Kamil did not want to be seen leaving the unit so early by the other firefighters under his command.

As such, he went to the staircase landing to rest instead of going to the designated rest area at the lift lobby.

While resting, Kamil met another firefighter, Lieutenant-Colonel Hassan, who took over as ground commander.

But while he briefed Hassan about the fire, Kamil did not reveal that Go was still alone in the flat.

He did not tell anyone else from SCDF either.

After resting, he did not return to the unit and instead attended to his other duties.

When Hassan entered the unit, he saw the fire hose on the ground with the water pressure low and concluded that all the firefighters had retreated.

He then headed for the rest area at the lift lobby, unaware that Go was still alone in the flat.

At 12:55pm, Go was found unconscious on the kitchen floor by another group of firefighters who arrived at the scene.

He was pronounced dead at 2:15pm.

The cause of death was suffocation due to a depleted air cylinder.

Made a mistake

Kamil was seen wiping away tears during court proceedings, The Straits Times reported.

His lawyer, Ramesh Tiwary, asked for a sentence of two to three months' jail.

He said that Kamil had "made a mistake, under pressure and under duress".

Tiwary also noted that while he had 14 years of experience, this fire was "particularly difficult as it kept reigniting and the water pressure was particularly low".

When District Judge Shawn Ho asked why Kamil did not withdraw Go from the unit, Tiwary replied: "Because mistakes happen, and he will have to pay the price for his mistake. If he did withdraw the deceased, we all would not be here today."

Ho was seen visibly emotional during sentencing, and extended his condolences to Go's family.

"He tragically lost his life serving as a firefighter," he said.

Related stories

Top image from Shin Min Daily News/Facebook and obits.sg