In the aftermath of an accident along Bukit Timah Road in March 2024, four officers recount their efforts to save lives amidst the debris and flames.
By: Ryan Yeo Kee Hng
On 6 March 2024 at about 6am, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) was alerted to an accident involving a car and school bus along Bukit Timah Road. As a result of the impact, the car had caught fire, the school bus had lost its front wheels, debris was strewn all over the road and a lamp post had collapsed onto the middle of the road.
A Race Against Time
For Inspector (Insp) Abdul Hadi Bin Halim, a Deputy Team Leader at Bukit Timah Neighbourhood Police Centre (NPC), the events of that fateful morning are still fresh in his memory. “We were patrolling in our vehicle along Bukit Timah Road when we responded to a burning car on the grass patch and a bus on the road,” he recalled.
As one of the first responders on the scene, Insp Hadi’s instincts kicked in and he rushed towards the car with his partner Sergeant (Sgt) Tan Jia Yi.
It was a race against time as the flames threatened to consume the vehicle. “Our immediate concern was the people who were inside the car and the school bus. We also tried to put out the fire using the fire extinguishers from our vehicles,” Insp Hadi continued.
Meanwhile, Sgt Tan faced the inferno head-on. “The car was badly damaged and there was smoke coming from it,” she recalled. “We observed that there were two unconscious passengers inside, a man and a woman. Our immediate thought was to get them out.”
But she confronted a challenge while attempting to pull the female passenger out from the car, as she was taller and of a bigger build. “As the fire grew, my only thought was to get her to safety,” she said.
With nerves of steel, Sgt Tan managed to pull the passenger out. “I definitely felt some fear,” she admitted. “Fear that the people in the car would be burnt, and fear that my colleagues would get injured by the fire.”
More help was soon to arrive. Over the radio, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Carlson Chen, a Team Leader at Bukit Timah NPC, and his partner Sgt Joel Ee, were informed by their teammates that assistance was required at a road traffic accident. They immediately proceeded to the scene.
When ASP Chen arrived, he knew that decisive action was needed. “Our first thought was to save lives,” he affirmed. “There were a lot of ‘popping’ sounds coming from the car and it could explode at any moment. However, our sense of duty was stronger.”
With the flames raging, ASP Chen and Sgt Ee sprang into action, their training guiding their every move.
“We noticed the male passenger had regained consciousness and was trying to get out of the car,” ASP Chen recounted.
Without hesitation, he and Sgt Ee rushed towards the car and pulled the trapped passenger to safety.
“I knew we also had to attend to the fire,” Sgt Ee recalled. He grabbed the fire extinguishers from their patrol car and rushed back to the burning vehicle.
Together with ASP Chen and Insp Hadi, they battled the flames. “We were concerned that the car might explode,” Sgt Ee admitted. “Part of me was definitely afraid for the safety of those at the scene. We used at least three fire extinguishers before the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) came.”
This wasn’t the first time that Sgt Ee had fought a fire. “There were similar incidents that I attended to before, such as a house fire,” he shared. “However, every incident is different and must be handled in its own way.”
ASP Chen also attended to students in the school bus with Police officers from other divisions. “Several children were injured and some were crying, so we had to gather and comfort them,” he said. “We told them that they were very brave, that more help was on the way and whatever they were going through would be over soon.”
A Moment to Reflect
As more emergency personnel arrived to attend to the injured and shaken, the four officers were finally able to take stock of what had happened. Thanks to their swift and selfless actions, lives were saved and a tragedy averted.
Insp Hadi expressed his gratitude to officers from other Police divisions who were at the scene. “They assisted in attending to the passengers from the school bus, cordoned off the area and directed traffic to avoid the debris on the road,” he said.
Asked why he’d acted as he did, Insp Hadi said simply, “As a Deputy Team Leader, I placed an expectation on myself to control and manage the scene well.”
After learning about the accident, Sgt Tan’s friends and family told her how proud they were of her. “I didn’t think much about rendering help at the time,” she recalled. “I was amazed at myself and felt a sense of accomplishment.”
As for ASP Chen, urgency was key: “We needed to prioritise what we had to do on the ground. Ultimately, it was the need to save lives that was on the top of our minds.”
Reflecting on their training as Police officers, Sgt Ee emphasised how this had guided their responses under pressure. “The scenario-based training we go through helped us to respond in a calm and composed manner,” he shared. “Policing is a job with challenges that you can’t experience anywhere else, and good training prepares us for any kind of situation.”
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