Mr Masagos Zulkifli Bin Masagos Mohamad, Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs and MP for Tampines GRC, unveiled the lift door sticker with fire safety advisory messages this morning, 24 February 2013, at Blk 819, Tampines West Avenue 3. The unveiling was held in conjunction with the Tampines West EP Day.

The lift door stickers carrying pictorial fire safety advisories, is one of the key initiatives of the campaign organised by SCDF and its community partners, to generate greater public awareness on the dangers of discarding items at common areas such as corridors, lift lobbies, staircases and void decks.

Fires involving discarded items at common areas in HDB estates account for almost a quarter of the total number of residential fires in 2012. Such fires have the potential to be more serious in nature due to the high fire load present and proximity to dwellings. A total of 18 persons sustained injuries from the 707 fires involving discarded items in 2012.

Leaving discarded items at the common areas, especially combustible items such as furniture and newspapers, can easily fuel fires when lighted materials such as cigarette butts are indiscriminately thrown onto them. Cluttered common areas can seriously hamper fire-fighting efforts, fire evacuation and conveyance of patients during a medical emergency.

The Vertical Stretcher Challenge was also organised during this morning"s EP Day. The event aimed to drive home the message on the dangers of cluttered corridors by means of a friendly relay match in which competing teams comprising Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) members from Tampines West, each carried a mock casualty on a stretcher and raced through obstructed and cluttered corridors

Residents are reminded to follow the following advisories to prevent fires involving discarded items in residential premises.

a.Do not leave discarded items at common areas such as corridors, lift lobbies, void decks and staircases;
b.Arrange with Town Councils for the removal of bulky items such as cupboards and sofas;
c.For the placement of items such as shoe racks, residents should adopt the guidelines on the use of common areas in HDB estates; and
d.Anyone who observes items being discarded at common areas should report them to the Town Council.