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The Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (DART) is the elite unit of the
Singapore Civil Defence Force The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) is a uniformed organisation in Singapore under the Ministry of Home Affairs (Singapore), Ministry of Home Affairs that provides emergency services such as firefighting, technical rescue, and emergency med ...
(SCDF) that specialises in complex incidents such as
technical rescue Technical rescue is the use of specialised tools and skills for rescue, including but not limited to confined space rescue, rope rescue, trench rescue, structural collapse rescue, ice rescue, swift water rescue, underwater rescue, and cave rescue. ...
,
urban search and rescue Urban search and rescue (abbreviated as USAR or US&R) is a type of technical rescue operation that involves the location, extrication, and initial medical stabilization of victims trapped in an urban area, namely structural collapse due to natu ...
, water rescue operations and prolonged
firefighting Firefighting is a profession aimed at controlling and extinguishing fire. A person who engages in firefighting is known as a firefighter or fireman. Firefighters typically undergo a high degree of technical training. This involves structural fir ...
.


History

DART was formed in May 1990. Prior to its formation, there were several elite units such as the Rescue Squad and MRT Task Force that were established by SCDF's predecessor, Singapore Fire Service (SFS). Upon the merger of the then-Singapore Civil Defence Force and SFS, DART was established as the new SCDF's elite rescue team. The first batch of DART consisted of an amalgamation of rescuers who were previously qualified for both elite units. Its first commander was LTC Poon Siow Hai. In the initial phase, DART participated in several aid missions overseas to gather experience and learn from other countries. SCDF's DART is the first in the Asia-Pacific region to be classified as a Heavy Urban Search And Rescue (USAR) Team by the
International Search and Rescue Advisory Group The International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) is an advisory body established in 1991 to facilitate coordination among the various international search and rescue teams. It focuses on Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) and aims to est ...
(INSARAG) in 2008. This Heavy USAR Team classification is the highest level of recognition that can be accorded to USAR Teams by the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
. This seal of approval allows disaster affected countries to regard SCDF's USAR capabilities favourably when prioritising acceptance of international response support.


Operations

Common day-to-day operations for DART include deploying for suicide rescue, water mishaps and height rescue missions. Notable local large-scaled operations include the
Nicoll Highway collapse The Nicoll Highway collapse occurred in Singapore on 20 April 2004 at 3:30pm local time when a Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) tunnel construction site caved in, leading to the collapse of the Nicoll Highway near the Merdeka Bridge. Four workers we ...
, where DART was deployed for a 4-day rescue operation. DART operates on a dual base system, with DART Eastern Base located in Kallang Fire Station, and DART Western Base located in Jurong Fire Station.


Operation Lionheart

SCDF maintains a dedicated 79-man standby contingent round-the-clock codenamed Operation Lionheart where its core function is to provide urban search and rescue and/or humanitarian relief assistance to countries afflicted by major disasters. The contingent primarily comprises rescuers from DART, with other SCDF frontline units providing additional manpower support. Several notable Operation Lionheart overseas missions include the 1993
Highland Towers collapse The Highland Towers collapse occurred on 11 December 1993 in Taman Hillview, Ulu Klang, Selangor, Malaysia. Tower Block 1 collapsed from a major landslide caused by heavy rains that burst diversion pipes. The Highland Towers consisted of thre ...
in Malaysia, the
1999 Jiji earthquake The Chi-Chi earthquake (later also known as the Jiji earthquake, 921 Earthquake, or the great earthquake of September 21), was a 7.3 Richter magnitude scale, ML or 7.7 Moment magnitude scale, Mw earthquake which occurred in Jiji, Nanto ...
in
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
, the
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake On 26 December 2004, at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+07:00, UTC+7), a major earthquake with a magnitude of 9.2–9.3 struck with an epicenter, epicentre off the west coast of Aceh in northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The Submarine earthquake, undersea ...
in
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
, the
2005 Kashmir earthquake An earthquake occurred at on 8 October 2005 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, a territory under Pakistan. Its epicenter was 19 km northeast of the city of Muzaffarabad, and 90 km north north-east of Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan, ...
in
Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
, the
2008 Sichuan earthquake An earthquake occurred in the province of Sichuan, China at 14:28:01 China Standard Time on May 12, 2008. Measuring at 8.0 (7.9–8.3 ), the earthquake's epicenter was located boxing the compass, west-northwest of Chengdu, the provincial ...
in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, the
2011 Christchurch earthquake A major earthquake occurred in Christchurch on Tuesday 22 February 2011 at 12:51 p.m. New Zealand Daylight Time, local time (23:51 Coordinated Universal Time, UTC, 21 February). The () earthquake struck the Canterbury Region ...
in
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
, and the
2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies ...
.


SCDF Search Platoon (K9 unit)

Part of the DART unit, the Search Platoon (K-9 unit) of the SCDF trains and deploys dogs for Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) operations as well as for Fire Investigation (FI). SCDF's FI Unit will activate the FI dogs when they are needed at the fire ground. When activated, FI dogs are deployed to search for any presence of fire accelerants. The dogs are trained to be familiar with the scent of various accelerants such as diesel, petrol, turpentine, kerosene and thinner. While USAR dogs are trained and deployed for height and depth rescue both locally and overseas. As many of the dogs were purchased from the United Kingdom, they would be given some time to adapt to the local tropical climate while getting trained in agility and obedience. Thereafter, the dogs are required to undergo urban search and rescue training where they will be exposed to various scenarios at the obstacle courses and mazes under different weather conditions and at varying difficulty levels. The SCDF Search Platoon currently shares the same base as its counterparts from the
Police K-9 Unit (Singapore) The Police K-9 Unit, formerly the Police Dog Unit (PDU) is a specialist force of the Singapore Police Force (SPF) under the direct command of the Special Operations Command. It specialises in the training of police dogs in explosive detectio ...
at No. 2 Mowbray Road.


Selection and training

The first DART training curriculum was derived from a combination of training methodologies inherited from the SFS and earlier Civil Defence Force. Studies were conducted on international special rescue forces' search and rescue training, in which several useful and relevant learning components were then later incorporated. Other than theoretical and psychomotor trainings, DART also focuses on inculcating mental and character resilience in its trainees. It is not only crucial for the DART members to be physically fit but also to be able to remain calm yet tough under extreme conditions. Candidates must first pass a 30-hour selection test. Test components include a 7-kilometre run, 18-kilometre
casualty evacuation Casualty evacuation, also known as CASEVAC or by the callsign Dustoff or colloquially Dust Off, is a military term for the emergency patient evacuation of casualty (person), casualties from a combat zone. Casevac can be done by both ground and ...
, and confidence tests in the water, at height, and in confined spaces. The test is highly selective; in 2018, only seven out of fifteen candidates passed selection. After passing selection, the candidates then undergo a ten-week training course including a 36-hour mission before graduating as DART specialists.


Appliances

DART utilises custom-made appliances such as the DART Rescue Vehicle for deployments.


DART Rescue Vehicle (DRV)

The DART Rescue Vehicle (DRV) has integrated the Heavy Rescue Tender and Special Rescue Tender into a single platform. With its modular concept of deployment, the DRV can be configured to respond to complex missions involving either height, collapsed structure or underwater rescue operations. It can also double up as a carrier for highly specialised equipment such as the Heli-bucket and Skid Loader.


DART Amphibious Vehicle (DAV)

The DART Amphibious Vehicle (DAV) enhances SCDF's response to fire and rescue incidents in Singapore's inland and coastal waters. Operated by a four-men crew, the DAV is able to achieve speeds of up to 100 km/h on land and up to 25 knots in water via its twin water jet propulsion system. It is able to enter directly into water bodies and swiftly transits from land to water mode in just 15 seconds using hydraulic wheel-retracting technology.


DART Utility Vehicle (DUV)

The DART Utility Vehicle (DUV) is a 5-Tonner which is deployed as a troop and equipment carrier.


DART Rescue Dog Tender (RDT)

The RDT is used by SCDF Search Platoon to deploy USAR Dogs and Fire Investigation Dogs.


Special Equipment


Heli-bucket

The heli-bucket is a water dispenser slung underneath a helicopter to collect water from any open source, such as a reservoir or sea. The water in the bucket will then be discharged at the base of the bucket, when the release button is activated. The heli-bucket was acquired by the SCDF to enhance its ground firefighting capability for large bush fires and fires that are in remote forested areas. It has since been deployed by DART to assist the Thailand authorities in fighting a forest fire in Chiang Mai in March 2015 and Indonesian authorities in aerial haze firefighting operations in October 2015.


Rigid inflatable boat

The Rigid inflatable boat is a lightweight but high-performance and high capacity boat constructed with a rigid
hull Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...
bottom joined to side-forming air tubes that are inflated with air to a high pressure so as to give the sides resilient rigidity along the boat's
topsides The topsides on a boat, ship, watercraft, or floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, is that part of the hull between the waterline and the deck.Rognaas, G., Xu, J., Lindseth, S., & Rosendahl, F. (2001). Mobile offshore base c ...
. DART utilises the Rigid inflatable boat for water rescue operations along the coastal areas of Singapore.


Decommissioned Appliances


See also

*
List of fire departments This is a list of fire departments in the world. A fire department or fire brigade also known as a fire and rescue service or fire service is a public sector, public or private sector, private organization that provides firefighting, rescue and em ...
*
Rescue squad A rescue squad is an emergency service that provides technical rescue services, and may additionally provide emergency medical services and firefighting services. Rescue squads may be standalone organizations or an integrated part of fire dep ...


References


External links


Singapore Civil Defence Force
{{DEFAULTSORT:Disaster Assistance And Rescue Team Organisations of the Singapore Government Fire service special operations Fire departments Rescue agencies Government agencies established in 1990