basic officers' course

pandemonium SG

Hey guys, just wanna know more about life in CDA as an OCT. Got a number of qns, hope you guys can help me out with.. some are q trivial, jus wanna noe wat to expect when in CDA. haha thanks ;p

1. Im female and am mentally prepared for the tough training. Just wanna ask if the training regime and requirements (like for SOC etc) would be exactly the same as that of the guys'? (coz i think for OCS training girls have to skip 3 stations in SOC)

2. How is a typical training day like? E.g. what time to wake up and when's lights-out at night? Is it more physical training stuffs in the morning and more lectures in the afternoons and stuff like that? how often do you have admin time/OTOT per day/week?

3. How do you deal with housekeeping chores? Like cleaning bunks/toilets/doing laundry. And how many sets of no.4 do you get?

4. Eh the sensitive money issues.. is there actually bonues given during the OCT period? And after 12 months, how much is the salary increment?

Um think that's all. thanks ya =)

pandemonium SG

err.. no one knows huh?

QX5216J SG

SCDF No. 4 are cheap skates...grab them if its free, theres time when they give freebies...

No. 4 TOO SENSITIVE...why not you go to One of the FS on Sat and ask those Machos with 2 Pips & 3 Pips, they MIGHT be glad to tell u...=)

pandemonium SG

theres very few female SOs in SCDF. just realised i cld be the only one in the entire platoon..

magioluca SG

Originally posted by pandemonium:
Hey guys, just wanna know more about life in CDA as an OCT. Got a number of qns, hope you guys can help me out with.. some are q trivial, jus wanna noe wat to expect when in CDA. haha thanks ;p

1. Im female and am mentally prepared for the tough training. Just wanna ask if the training regime and requirements (like for SOC etc) would be exactly the same as that of the guys'? (coz i think for OCS training girls have to skip 3 stations in SOC)

U only do about half of the obstacles. The most difficult one for the ladies is the rope. They are always stuck there as they lack the strength to pull themselves up. Some of them have height phobia and they are stuck at the top of jacobs ladder. But at the end of the course, every single lady in my batch passed SOC with flying colours. They only wear No. 4.

2. How is a typical training day like? E.g. what time to wake up and when's lights-out at night? Is it more physical training stuffs in the morning and more lectures in the afternoons and stuff like that? how often do you have admin time/OTOT per day/week?

[b]wake up at 530am. 545am is 5 BX. Lights out normally by 11pm-12pm. Depending on the module being conducted and the course admin, training sessions can vary.

3. How do you deal with housekeeping chores? Like cleaning bunks/toilets/doing laundry. And how many sets of no.4 do you get?

[color=brown]Every morning must do area cleaning. The ladies have their own washing machines and toilets. 4 sets of No. 4 will be issued. [/color]

4. Eh the sensitive money issues.. is there actually bonues given during the OCT period? And after 12 months, how much is the salary increment?

[color=white]Sorry no bonuses during OCT period. Salary increment depends on your performance. I am a guy , so not very sure for a lady. My pay increment per year is about 300. [/color]

Um think that's all. thanks ya =)[/b]

pandemonium SG

Hey thanks.
Does training include all aspects of rescue and firefighting, like say, abseiling, hazmat etc? How's the syllabus like for the whole 9 months? coz I've heard things like humidity tests, the maze thingy and some others i can't rem.

magioluca SG

Hi,

This course is not the faint hearted. It is not just a test of your physical endurance. It is a test of your heat endurance and mental endurance. Think about wearing thick fire jacket and legging under the hot sun, and fighting fire. In addition of your heavy clothing (about 10kg), you are also carrying or operating heavy equipment.

This course trains you to be a leader in such adverse conditions. To be able to stay focus and lead in such conditions will stand you out as a fire officer.

You will be trained in all aspects of fire fighting, road traffic accidents, height rescue (limited), equipment handling, fire investigation, fire safety in buildings and more.

My 2 years as a rota commander in a fire station is really challenging. U get to see aspects of life that ordinary officer workers rarely see. People committing suicide, extracting trapped drivers from cars, breaking into residential units where there is heavy smoke coming out, fighting forest fires, just to name a few. The working hours are long and unpredictable but the sense of satisfaction is great, especially if u save a life.

pandemonium SG

You're a regular officer? I've heard a bit abt how cadets puke and faint during the first few trainings wearing the fire jacket under the sun coz of heat exhaustion. um I may, right now, think im tough enough to face all these, but still, I wldnt know until it really happens to me Confused I'm interested in this line coz scdf officers often speak of their profession with pride that other uniformed officers (say, saf) rarely show. I can see that the job is really meaningful.

i've already gone through the selection and passd the interview. now waiting for job preview and contract. just wanna understand the job and responsibilities more before I put down my signature. And hey, thanks for your help =)

another qn.. im very keen on hazmat. Is selection for hazmat offrs tough? how does the manpower dept decide if you're suited for this specialization?

magioluca SG

Hi pandemonium,

I am glad to help np.

I am a regular officer now working at SCDF HQ, though it is inconvenient to reveal my name. You are correct, it is common for cadets to fall prey to the heat and puke or faint because they are not used to it at the beginning.

when you pass out from BOC (Basic Officer's Course), you will be sent to the frontline ( a fire station ) for about 1-2 years before you are posted elsewhere.

Haha, I think you asked the right person, I was a Hazmat officer also ;p. People with biological/ chemical background would be given priority in selection. I felt that scholars would also be given priority. The 1 month course itself is not tough, but there are a lot more things to learn.

Being a Hazmat officer means you get posted to a Hazmat station. It is not easy as you have to lead an additional 14-15 men (Hazmat ) as compared to normal fire stations. In terms of logistics, manpower, training, there are much more things to do. However you get $200 more allowance as compared to your fellow colleagues in normal fire stations.

I hope it helps. BOC is tough but very fun. Once again, station life can be a life changing experience.

I'm doing staff work now.. yawnz... missed the firecalls.... zz

pandemonium SG

Hi thanks a lot! =) haha after reading through your post I seem to have more questions popping up in my head =p

hmm this would mean the posting to a hazmat station takes place within the 2-year rc posting? Like, 1 year as normal rc, then another as a rc at a hazmat stn? Does that also mean leading the hazmat team wld be your secondary appointment? Does a hazmat officer still have the usual rota shifts, i.e. 24hr duty, then 2 days off, then duty agn?

And this wld also mean that I should know pretty early whether im in hazmat or not isit. Coz I thought I had to wait till the end of the 2year rc tour before knowing if Im assigned the staff appointmt, or specialization or command. Oh ya, Im majoring in biomedical sciences, hopefully tt helps haha.

About the staff tour after 2 years at the frontline, Hazmat officers are usu posted to hazmat in HQ under operations department? or is there chances tt they'll be posted to other departments like public affairs or elsewhere?
After a few years at the hq, is there a chance to be posted back to the frontline? er, quite concerned about this coz it seems that ladies are usually not posted back to fire stations and are more or less confined in the hq for a long long time.. humph

magioluca SG

Lol I not going to tell you so much lah..... then you know everything liao... then wats the fun siah

Dun worry , there will be plenty of time to know a lot of things about SCDF when you are going through your 9 month course.

I think rather then keeping yourself preoccupied with so many questions so far ahead, why not concentrate on your task at hand: going through your 9 month course and going to the frontline (fire station) after that.

Your perceptions to what you want to do after your station stint would be different by then. Which is why whatever I tell you now beyond your station stint would be irrelevant.

Have fun my friend.

QX5216J SG

Sir,

u sure not?!

HAVE FUN?!

BOC Fun mehx?

anyway if she posted to the FSs, which one will she be going?

Tampines?(heard that there shortage of HAZMAT Personnel)

pandemonium SG

hrm.. yes sir! =D alrighty am looking fwd to the start of the course now.

To QXxxxx: Tampines! My gosh hope I won't be posted there! damn far from my place ah

QX5216J SG

well, depending on HQ SCDF...

oh yeah...no need to CENSORE my Ambulance Registration No. De larx...=)

QX5216J~