Page 8 - 4. July 2016

ಸಿಂಪುಟ ೬, ಸಿಂಚಿಕೆ ೭, ಜುಲೆೈ, ೨೦೧೬

Next Gen - ಲ ್ೀಕ - Why serve NS? - Prajwal

My last phase of NS has brought me to Sengkang Fire station. This was where my skills and fitness went to a whole new level. I knew
that I had much to learn when I left the academy. Sengkang is an operational fire station and frankly to say the busiest fire station in
Singapore. We have the most number of ambulance calls in Singapore as well as the one of the highest number of fire calls. Sengkang
is also known for how tough their firefighters are. They are known to be cruel and unforgiving to any new guy who isn’t at the compe-
tency level that one expects them to be at. Naturally, when I came in (Even though I had chosen Sengkang) I had no idea what I was
getting myself into. I had heard stories in the academy about how

unforgiving their firefighters were and naturally I was scared
when I came in. Nonetheless, I put up a brave face and faced the
challenge up ahead of me, after all I had chosen this fire station, it
was all my doing and henceforth I had no reason to complain.
Naturally, I was wrong and so wrong that I would complain to my
mother every single day. The level of fitness and endurance that

their firefighters had was nothing compared to what we went
through at the academy. I was so scared to come to work every
single duty. Being a firefighter was insanely difficult. In fact,
nothing that I could comprehend inside my head and on top of
that, Section Commanders like me were pushed even further.
Luckily, I had my batch mates by my side to go through the suf-
fering and torture. At times I was close to fainting and giving up
after the tough endurance trainings which involved carrying huge
loads of weight in the region of about 50kgs (be it hoses or equip-
ment) while donning our breathing set which weighed 15kgs.
Breathing in them required me to learn how to even breathe dif-
ferently compared to normal breathing! They would not stop the
endurance until or unless one of us fainted and conveyed to the
hospital by an ambulance or we completed the training, it was a cruel way to mold us into better firefighters, one that I call the “Shock
treatment” and frankly, it was the only way. The reason they did all that was for us to not only improve our endurance and fitness but
so that we learn to think in high pressure situations which involved us section commanders to make quick decisions, it was as close to
the real situation that we could have been in on top of that I had to learn how to dive and swim. I learnt more skills such as lifting,
rescue methods, firefighting and an intense crash course in leadership of my men. I was lucky enough to have a mentor called Terence
who taught me everything I know today. He made me into a good section commander and I thank him to this day and as time passed
on, I learnt to be more vocal and command and control my men on the ground. I still have a long way to go but I am enjoying each
and every moment in Sengkang as I have found for myself a second home, a second family. I enjoy the fire and rescue incidents that I
attend to, to the station visits every Saturday where the kids and their parents would come to visit our station and learn about our oper-
ations. The most joyful part about such visits is where we would get the kids would get to sit inside the fire engines and play with the
water and hug me for giving me a visit around the station. Coming to Sengkang I’m glad to say I’ve seen both the good and bad of
society. From attending to calls such as fires in buildings to rescuing people who attempt to suicide to seeing dead bodies to rescuing
victims stuck inside manholes and doors, along the way it was heartwarming to hear compliments and gestures of thanks from mem-
bers of public, overall Its been one hell of a ride.

I can say that NS has in no way been a waste of time. It is a long drawn out process for sure but it is surely worth it for anyone who is
willing to go through experiences unlike any other. Not only has my physical fitness increased but also my mental ability, I learned
that any situation can be overcome with the right approach and right mindset. I approach every situation with a positive attitude to-
wards life, I’m not the lazy teenager that I used to be and along the way I picked up a few great skills from fighting fires to rescue to
ironing my clothes and cleaning. Life lessons that would surely help me along the way. I can proudly say that I’ve become a man that
my parents can be proud of, helping them and supporting them in whatever capacity that I can be it doing house chores or paying the
utility bills to managing my own finances. In short I’ve become a man capable of taking care of myself. To sum it up to those out
there wondering about what NS is and whether to serve NS or not, my advice would be to go ahead and serve as you would go
through a myriad of experiences unlike never before and go through the journey of a lifetime.

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