S'porean student, 16, responds to over 10 emergencies via SCDF app, hopes to be paramedic when he grows up

Saruveshvaran Jeeva was born on World Red Cross Day.

His birthday would foreshadow his later passion. Saruvesh, 16, has responded to 13 emergencies so far via the SCDF myResponder app.

He is also the youngest first responder in Singapore to respond to 10 emergencies as a Singapore Red Cross Youth (RCY).

Speaking to Mothership, the Secondary Four student at Serangoon Garden Secondary School said he's had this passion ever since joining the Red Cross CCA in primary school.

Today, he serves as the vice-chairperson of his school's RCY unit, and is a recipient of the Singapore Red Cross youth director's award.

Saved neighbours

Saruvesh responded to an emergency for the first time when he was 15 years old.

It was Nov. 4, 2025. He had received a notification about an emergency at a nearby block at 10:35pm on the SCDF myResponder app, and rushed down to the scene.

There, he found an elderly man suffering from cardiac arrest.

Being the first person to arrive, Saruvesh was terrified.

But he managed to pull himself together enough to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for six minutes.

The paramedics soon arrived and took over, and the man was resuscitated in the ambulance.

Saruvesh's quick thinking and actions were commended by the elderly man's neighbours. But just days later, the situation repeated itself.

On Nov. 7, 2025, he received another notification about a cardiac emergency happening a few streets down from home.

Despite it being past midnight, Saruvesh leapt into action, becoming the first and only responder at the scene.

He once again administered CPR to the victim. This time, he was awarded a community first responder award, and was also commended by his school principal.

The story made its rounds in school and inspired fellow schoolmates to partake in the myResponder programme, he recalled.

10 emergencies

So far, Saruvesh has responded to eight cardiac emergencies and five fire emergencies.

Saruvesh's 10th emergency response came on Mar. 28, when he was alerted to a rubbish bin fire near his school.

"I responded right after school!" he recalled.

He helped guide some members of the Aljunied-Hougang Town Council to the rubbish bin, and the fire was quickly put out.

Then 15, he earned the title of being the youngest person in the Singapore Red Cross Youth to respond to 10 emergencies.

"I might as well use it"

Asked what sparked his interest in being a first responder, Saruvesh said his family had inculcated the values of kindness and community in him as a child.

This inspired him to join the Red Cross Youth as a co-curricular activity in school.

It was there that he received training in basic and standard first aid, CPR, the use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and basic child life support.

"What inspires me is the fact that I can arrive before paramedics to sustain lives using the skills I have learnt," he said.

"If I have the ability to help save lives, I might as well use it."

The teen usually heads towards emergency scenes without family members, he said, but in most cases, he is joined by other first responders there.

As for his future plans, the 16-year-old hopes to enter the pharmaceutical science programme in polytechnic, which he said will eventually help in emergency care.

His dream job is also not surprising: "I hope to become a paramedic officer when I grow up."