SMRT holds first emergency evacuation
exercise for 2009
Public Transport operator SMRT held its first emergency
evacuation exercise of the year at two new MRT stations of the Boon
Lay extension earlier today.
They are Pioneer and Joo Koon MRT stations, which are located
along the East-West line.
More than 500 residents from Southwest CDC, students from
Singapore Management University and SMRT staff participated in the
exercise.
These residents got a first hand glimpse at the two new
stations, scheduled to be officially open at the end of this
month.
The emergency evacuation exercise involved a mock arsonist
attack-cum bombing of the westbound train travelling between the
two stations.
As part of the exercise, smoke machines were used to create a
more realistic environment.
The aim of the exercise is to highlight the importance of
vigilance in the case of such emergency situations.
It also provided an opportunity for emergency response teams
from the Singapore Civil Defence Force and the Singapore Police
Force to familiarise themselves with the new MRT stations.
Such exercises are part of SMRT's Community Emergency
Preparedness Programme which has trained over 6700 participants to
date, since it began in December 2006.
SMRT says these emergency evacuation exercises are held once
every two months.
