'He would endure everything and always push through': SCDF trainer on NSF firefighter who died from Henderson Road blaze

SINGAPORE — The full-time national serviceman (NSF) who died after a firefighting operation at Block 91 Henderson Road in Bukit Merah on Thursday (Dec 8) had a never-say-die attitude and may have pushed himself to the limit on the mission, just as he did during training, his former trainer said.

Sergeant Shihan Ahnaf Shoeb, 23, told TODAY that he has never heard a single complaint from the 19-year-old serviceman during his Basic Rescue Training even though he was physically weaker at that early stage. The training is the first that recruits attend once they are enlisted into the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).

“Many recruits usually would fall out or stand down from training when they feel a little bit tired… but he never once complained even though he was physically on the weaker side, as he was quite skinny,” he said.

“He will endure everything and always push through.”

Sergeant Shihan added: “A real brave soldier to say the least… That’s probably what happened — he tried pushing his limit as he does for training, and his body gave up."

SCDF said in a media statement on Thursday that it was alerted to a fire at about 11.10am.

When firefighters arrived at the scene, the blaze was in a flat on the fourth floor of the public housing block and the corridor was heavily smoke-logged.

It added that the firefighter fell unconscious in the kitchen area during the operation. He was carried out of the unit and given cardio-pulmonary resuscitation.

The ambulance crew at the scene also used an automated external defibrillator on him — a device used in cases of cardiac arrest.

The serviceman was then taken to Singapore General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Sergeant Shihan did not want to disclose the serviceman’s name, but people have referred to him as “Edward” in messages on social media.

Recalling how the pair would bump into each other in the canteen during breaks when the serviceman moved on to the next phase of his training, Sergeant Shihan said: “He would always run up to me and shout, ‘Sergeant, how are you?’

“(He would) update me on his training and his plans for university after National Service, and everything. 

“He was a really bright kid. Just by talking to him, you would know how smart he is and how bright his future seemed."

Sergeant Shihan added that the youth was a straight-As student, had scored full marks for his International Baccalaureate examinations and was planning on going to medical school.

It was not just his academic accomplishments that made a mark, but his character as well. 

Sergeant Shihan said that trainers like him see 120 recruits every three months and it was the youth's never-say-die attitude that made him stand out.

“He was the best kind of recruit a sergeant could wish for. That’s why it hurts more when I heard the news.”

SCDF said on Thursday that it is providing assistance and support to the firefighter’s family and investigations are ongoing.

On Friday, one of the people who were living in the two-room rental flat said that they were awaiting news on whether they would be relocated to another flat.

Mr Muhammad Azri Ramlan, 21, who is waiting for his National Service posting and lives with his in-laws, said that neighbours, relatives and social workers have been helping them, for example, in getting a mattress, toiletries and other essential items.

He also said that he was saddened by the firefighter's death and called the serviceman "a hero". ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY LEONARD LEONG