S’porean missed out on becoming a paramedic after uni. 15 years later, she’s saving lives here & beyond.

Fresh out of university, Amelia Lim contemplated a career ahead of her.

Stints in the Red Cross at school made her curious about life as a paramedic.

But she was initially dissuaded by friends who painted a daunting picture of life as a paramedic and the responsibility that the job entailed.

She decided not to apply to the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) and joined the workforce instead to start a career in a different field.

But she never quite let go of the idea.

Years later when Amelia was thinking of leaving her first job, she noticed that the SCDF was once again recruiting.

Amelia started as a Sergeant (SGT) Paramedic Specialist and fast forward 15 years, she has progressed to Lieutenant Colonel (LTC), equipped with extensive knowledge and skills in emergency medical care as well as firefighting and rescue.

Most importantly, she has no regrets.

Compassion for people at their lowest

As an experienced paramedic, Amelia is under no illusions about her job.

When duty calls, her role puts her at the heart of life-changing moments – both good and bad.

“You will really encounter people who are at their lowest time of their life,” she recounts, and in those moments, paramedics need to have “ the compassion, the patience, and to really care for the people that you are serving.”

“That’s a different kind of aptitude.”

She gave the example of attending to a child with a high fever.

High fevers may trigger febrile fits among children, where they can go stiff and unconscious, leaving parents in a state of panic.

It is moments like these that Amelia reminds herself, and in the future, her trainees, that while rendering medical treatment to a patient, we must also be sensitive to the emotions of their next of kin and care for them.

Memorable call outs

One of Amelia’s most memorable calls involved an elderly lady who was suffering from chest pains.

Her worried granddaughters called for an ambulance for her, and given her reported symptoms, Amelia suspected she was having a heart problem and used the electrocardiogram machine to assess her.

During the assessment, the elderly lady's heart suddenly stopped beating and suffered a cardiac arrest. Amelia and her crew immediately started resuscitation by performing CPR and applying the defibrillator.

The patient survived due to the prompt response and medical care by Amelia and her crew.

Challenging roles and promising pathways

Being in the 1st SCDF Division is a challenging role – the division oversees a large area of operational boundary, from Jurong Island to the Bishan region and even Sentosa.

Apart from the regular duties of operations planning, Amelia also ensures the Division's eight fire stations and their Fire and Rescue as well as Emergency Medical Services (EMS) are always operationally ready.

Her previous experience as the Senior Assistant Director for EMS Plans and Policy, where she developed long-term strategies for Singapore's emergency medical services and crisis contingency plans, provides valuable, strategic insight to her current operational role.

Personal growth and professional development

When asked about whether she considered any sign-on perks, she answered honestly, and a little sheepishly, saying that at the time she had already decided to join the SCDF, and didn’t really check for any sign-on perks.

But if joining the SCDF is on your mind, do know that there are comprehensive benefits available, including sign-on incentives, competitive remuneration packages, up to 18 days of annual leave, and welfare support such as medical and dental benefits.

Amelia was a beneficiary of one particular benefit: in 2023 she graduated from Coventry University in the United Kingdom with a Master of Science with Distinction in Emergency Management and Resilience.

Her Master’s Degree was sponsored by the SCDF, as part of a programme that presents scholarships to deserving Home Team officers annually, in recognition of their outstanding service, commitment, and passion.

Other than opportunities for further studies, learning also happens on the job.

There’s an annual S$700 learning and development subsidy to better support an officer’s profession and personal growth.

The training and tools used by the SCDF have evolved over time, as the SCDF has inculcated more advanced systems and machinery to enhance its fire fighting and rescue capabilities.

SCDF officers also embrace innovation and technology, working with multiple stakeholders to save lives. Whether it is developing the Operational Medical Networks Informatics Integrator (OMNII) – a digital platform that enables real-time sharing of patient information between ambulances and hospitals – with Ministry of Health and Home Team Science & Technology Agency (HTX) or the Traffic Priority System with Land Transport Authority, which gives incoming ambulances traffic signal priority for the "final mile" towards a hospital, SCDF officers were given opportunities to constantly pick up new skills and master new machines or equipment.

Amelia coordinated the roll out of the High Performance CPR, an F1 pit crew style approach to cardiac arrest resuscitation where every team member has a specific role. This initiative not only improved a patient’s chances of survival with good neurological outcomes, but also strengthened the organisation’s lifesaving capacity by having firefighters and paramedics trained in the method.

These opportunities and initiatives keep Amelia excited about the job.

Protecting Home, and Abroad

And the good that she has done has not been restricted to Singapore either.

Amelia has taken part in one Operation Lionheart mission, in 2011, where she provided assistance for the Feb. 22 Christchurch Earthquake in New Zealand, as part of a contingent that included four paramedics.

In 2013, SCDF was successfully reclassified as a heavy Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) team under the UN International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) after going through a gruelling 36 hours exercise, which Amelia was a part of.

For the Turkiye-Syria and Myanmar Operation Lionheart missions in 2023 and 2025 respectively, Amelia facilitated the deployment of the contingent from Singapore, such as preparing medical logistics to be brought over to the disaster-stricken countries.

It’s the people that count

But what really made Amelia stay in the profession as long as she has? The people.

Amelia expressed appreciation for her mentors and supervisors, who have guided and supported her throughout her 15-year journey, from a paramedic in Ang Mo Kio Fire Station through to her officer training course, to her roles at SCDF headquarters and beyond.

One of the turning points in her career came when her commander encouraged her to cross-train as a Fire & Rescue Officer – rare for a paramedic at the time. She was reluctant as she deeply enjoyed her role as a paramedic, but her commander convinced her to take the leap of faith.

Amelia eventually progressed to a Rota Commander at Sengkang Fire Station in 2015, before becoming the Commander of a fire station within SCDF’s 1st Division and now the Head of Operations for the 1st Division.

Today, she mentors younger officers and paramedics, watching them climb the ranks.

“That, in itself, is also something that is quite rewarding, to see your mentees grow in the organisation.”

If you would like to find out more about a career in the SCDF, please follow this link.

This sponsored article by the SCDF, makes the writer want to thank the paramedics who were very kind, in a difficult time.

Top image courtesy of Amelia Lim.