SINGAPORE: For six years, he rushed to accident sites, rescuing
people as a paramedic. But when Mr Yeo Ren Jie graduates from
university, he could be the brains behind the next generation of
ambulances that are safer and can prevent equipment and staff from
falling over when rushing to attend to victims.
The Home Team is organising an exhibition from Friday (Nov 12)
to Sunday to showcase what officers like him do.
Mr Yeo, 26, clinched a Ministry of Home Affairs sponsorship last
year to pursue industrial design at the National University of
Singapore (NUS). He was only 20 and fresh out of polytechnic when
he signed on as a full-time paramedic. Despite being on the Dean’s
List for Temasek Polytechnic’s Product and Industrial Design
diploma course, he put further studies on hold to pursue his other
passion: Life-saving work.
He had started out as a Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF)
volunteer with his sister at Mountbatten Community Centre, teaching
residents cardiopulmonary resuscitation and fire-fighting
techniques on weekends as part of the Community Emergency
Preparedness Programme.
Then in 2006, he became a uniformed volunteer when the Civil
Defence Auxiliary Unit was launched.
After signing on, he received two years of full-time training.
Every call received was “quite a challenge”, said Mr Yeo, a staff
sergeant.
Aside from the 14-hour shift work and the need to be physically
and mentally fit, he had to remain calm and composed as a crew
leader.
“It is adrenaline-rushing because a life is (at stake), so my
job is to stay calm and (the rest is) all muscle memory - the steps
are always there, but the difficulty is trying to manage the
scene,” he said.
Cases involving death were especially challenging. Recalling an
incident of a young boy who drowned in a river and whose body was
only found a few days later, he said: “(When) the mother came down,
she was hysterical. And when she showed us the photo, he was so
young.”
He added: “I have a younger brother too, so I can relate to how
she feels ... but we have the support from our colleagues and
family.”
Looking forward to a new chapter that may involve ambulance
design after he graduates, Mr Yeo, a second-year student, said: “We
often come up with new ideas to improve the work and organisation.
So in NUS, I learnt how we can improve the experience of the whole
ambulance service, for example.”
Themed Home Safe Home, this year’s Home Team Festival will be
held at the Singapore Expo. Visitors can meet Home Team officers,
get a feel of their daily challenges and view the latest equipment.
The Singapore Global Firefighters and Paramedics Challenge will
also be held.
-TODAY/av