Emergency medical services demand remains high

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) reported 245,279 Emergency Medical Services (EMS) calls in 2024, representing a 0.6% decrease from the previous year.

Despite this slight decline, the average daily EMS call volume remained high at 672 calls per day—28% above the pre-pandemic level of 525 calls per day in 2019.

Emergency calls made up 93.3% of total EMS responses, with 79.5% of cases related to medical emergencies such as chest pain and cardiac arrest.

Trauma cases accounted for 16.3%, while road traffic accidents represented 4.2%.

False alarm EMS calls fell by 9.1% to 5,713 cases, following SCDF’s public education initiatives aimed at reducing unnecessary emergency calls.

Fire incidents rise across non-residential and open spaces

SCDF responded to 1,990 fire incidents in 2024, a 1.8% increase from the 1,954 cases recorded in 2023.

Fires in residential premises remained stable, decreasing slightly by 0.2% to 968 cases.

The leading causes were unattended cooking and electrical faults.

However, fires involving Active Mobility Devices (AMDs) increased by 21.8% to 67 cases, with incidents in residential premises rising from 35 to 44.

Non-residential fires increased by 2.7% to 415 cases, while fires in non-building premises—such as vehicle fires and vegetation fires—rose by 4.7% to 607 cases.

Vegetation fires recorded the highest increase, rising by 35.3% to 180 cases.

Fire safety enforcement checks increase

SCDF conducted 15,075 fire safety enforcement checks in 2024, reflecting a slight increase of 0.2%.

The number of Fire Hazard Abatement Notices (FHANs) issued decreased by 5.7% to 2,579, with the most common violation related to non-maintenance of firefighting equipment.

Notices of Offence (NOO) dropped by 27.6% to 1,061, with unauthorised change of use of premises being the most common offence.

Court actions related to fire safety violations declined by 25.7% to 107 cases.

SCDF stated that it will continue enforcement efforts and public engagement to maintain fire safety compliance.

Community first responder participation increases

SCDF reported a rise in community emergency response through the myResponder app.

The response rate for cardiac arrest and minor fire incidents increased by 6.5% to 50.3% in 2024.

There were 40,245 new sign-ups for the app, marking a 14.1% increase from 2023.

Since its launch in 2015, the platform has registered more than 203,000 community responders.

SCDF stated that public participation has contributed to life-saving efforts, with 94 cardiac arrest victims receiving timely assistance from responders alerted through the app.

SCDF releases 2024 emergency response and fire safety statistics: Summary

SCDF reported 245,279 EMS calls in 2024, a 0.6% decrease from 2023, but still significantly above pre-pandemic levels.

Emergency calls accounted for 93.3% of EMS incidents, with nearly half involving seniors aged 65 and above.

Fire incidents increased by 1.8% to 1,990 cases.

While residential fires remained stable, non-residential and non-building fires rose by 2.7% and 4.7%, respectively.

Fires involving Active Mobility Devices increased by 21.8% to 67 cases.

Fire safety enforcement checks increased slightly to 15,075.

Notices for fire hazards and offences decreased, while court actions dropped by 25.7%.

The community first responder programme recorded a 6.5% rise in participation, with 40,245 new sign-ups for the myResponder app.

Since its launch, the platform has registered over 203,000 responders.