Orchard Road is all bright again. The Civic District is packed. Festive villages and pop-up fairs are back all over our the island. There’s that month-long Uncle Ringo carnival being held together with SG Cares Giving Week.
And of course, all those New Year celebrations everywhere at once all over the island, where everyone gets to gather to welcome 2023.
But while we soak in the festivities, it’s important to stay safe too.
Safe celebrations
Our men and women in blue will work with event organisers to control crowd surges whenever there’s a major event.
We’re talking deploying security people and regulating crowds at those popular congregation spots and chokepoints. Also cordoning off areas with public safety risks such as bridges and narrow if needed.
They will also set up signages to guide the public on where to go too and constantly count the crowd to make sure nothing goes wrong.
Like Minister of State for Home Affairs Sun Xueling shared in the November’s Parliament sitting, the Police will be out there so that your celebrations will be good.
“The Police are deployed on the ground at these major events to ensure law and order, as well as to provide swift responses to incidents,” she said.
“Contingency plans are also put in place. These may involve catering for emergency lanes to facilitate emergency responses within crowded areas, and closing off high-risk areas pre-emptively before they become overcrowded.”
Fire safety and high-tech police patrols
Fire safety is also vital. Especially when you’re indoors.
“In general, the Fire Code requires every storey of a building to have at least two independent exit staircases to ensure timely evacuation,” said MOS Sun.
“Higher-risk premises such as those with an occupant load of 1,000 persons or more; floor area of 5,000 sqm or more; or 9 storeys or more, including basement levels, require a fire safety manager to be appointed,” she detailed.
Our Home Team will also walk the streets (particularly in high-traffic areas like Little India or Chinatown) to look out for everyone’s well-being. They’ll have help from drones too.
Plus, you’ll have live updates on where’s crowded and where’s not.
“To increase public awareness, the Police publicise safety measures pre-, during-, and post-event. The Police may also pre-empt the public on potential crowding, and alert the public to avoid areas or events which are already crowded,” said MOS Sun.
“For example, at NDP 2022, the Crowd@MarinaBay website provided live updates of the crowd situation at hotspots for fireworks viewing in the Marina Bay area. Members of the public can help keep each other safe by informing one another of ground developments.”
So carry on with that festive fun (and other big events through 2023) and remember to keep each other safe.
Cover photo credit: Shubhankar Sharma, Unsplash
