SINGAPORE — There are fire alarms in all MRT stations, but they are not audible to commuters and can be heard only by staff who are then tasked with the evacuation of the station.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said this in response to TODAY’s queries following last Wednesday’s fire at a tunnel near Newton MRT Station which caused morning rush-hour commute to be disrupted along nine stations and affected some 15,000 commuters.

Those present at that time said they did not hear a fire alarm and questioned why it was so.

The LTA said yesterday this is to enable station staff to first verify against false alarms before announcing any orderly and assisted evacuation through the public address system should the need arise.

“The rationale is not to cause unnecessary confusion and panic to the commuters especially during false alarms in a crowded station, which can lead to disruption to line operations and service in the station,” the LTA added.

According to the LTA and the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), MRT stations are fitted with an automatic fire alarm system in accordance with local and international standards.

The SCDF said the fire alarm system in a MRT station is activated via sprinklers, detectors or manual call points. The detectors are positioned on the ceiling.

In non-commercial activity areas of the MRT station, such as the platform and concourse areas, the activation of the alarm system is via detectors, as these spaces are not required to be protected by sprinklers, the SCDF added.

Newton MRT Station is subjected to regulation under SCDF’s Fire Certificate (FC) Scheme, renewable on a yearly basis.

The SMRT is required to engage a professional engineer to conduct checks and tests on the fire protection systems to confirm that they are in working order. The last check at the Newton station was in March last year and the fire protection systems were found to be in good working order, the SCDF said.

Last Friday, Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew said the fire, though rare, should be viewed as a warning and an opportunity to re-look procedures. Responding to questions on the sidelines of a visit to the Sengkang Depot, Mr Lui said the incident should be viewed seriously, as any fire can be “potentially catastrophic”.

The SCDF said yesterday that the investigation into the tunnel fire is ongoing, but added that it conducts random inspections at premises, including MRT stations, to verify the functionality of the fire protection systems.

Member of Parliament (MP) Seng Han Thong, who is Deputy Chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Transport, said he understood the LTA’s rationale behind the system, but felt it would be crucial to keep commuters abreast with developments about a situation at alls times.

“Much like the fire system in a high-rise building, announcements are made at every point, so commuters should be told that there could be a fire and that staff were investigating it,” he said.

MP Ang Hin Kee said he was concern with MRT staff being burdened with the day-to-day running of the station, as well as being placed in a position where lives are in their hands.

“If they are well-trained and it’s within their job scope, then it’s all right,” he said. “But I don’t think it is solely their responsibility, and the management has to bear the responsibility of ensuring adequate training.”