SINGAPORE — Children will get to extinguish small fires, while members of the public will be free to clamber into an ambulance, a fire truck and a marine firefighting vessel at this year’s Life Saver Connect exhibition by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), as part of efforts to give the public a taste of life as an emergency responder.

Previously called Community Bonding Day, the event this year was renamed and designed to be more engaging and interactive, where families can come together to learn life-saving skills and knowledge in a carnival-like setting.

Rides were designed for children and there are opportunities to play with the SCDF’s search and rescue dogs.

To give the public a glimpse of the training firefighters undergo, the SCDF is also exhibiting its Mobile Fire Trainer for the first time today and tomorrow. A fire simulator is switched on when visitors enter, allowing them to experience the heat firefighters have to bear with during an operation.

Through the event, which also features demonstrations of first aid techniques, the SCDF also hopes to raise awareness of the importance of having basic life-saving skills.

SCDF assistant director Bob Tan said common misconceptions about life-saving include the lack of awareness that there are in fact two hotlines to call when help is needed — 995 for emergency cases and 1777 for non-emergency cases — and the assumption that only paramedics are certified to perform first-aid procedures.

Noting that paramedics take an average of eight minutes to arrive, Lieutenant Colonel Tan said this window is an important one in life-saving and everyone has a role to play. In emergencies, the 995 operator can talk the caller through simple first-aid procedures, he added.

Life Savers Connect will be held until Saturday (Sept 13) at Singapore Expo Hall 2.

CORRECTION: In an earlier version of this article, we incorrectly reported that the Life Savers Connect 2014 exhibition would be held at the Singapore Expo Hall 2 until Sunday. It will be on until 7pm Saturday only. We apologise for the error.