Central Fire Station!

Baby, baby, baby, oooh.

What a nice watchtower! Could that be the castle of Singapore?

The building turned out to be the Central Fire Station. It is the oldest existing fire station today! Interestingly, the station is still functioning and it is vital in ensuring that Singapore’s Central Business District is safe. The Central Fire station was opened in 1909 and the watchtower was actually the highest building in Singapore at one point in time.

The building was nicknamed “blood and bandage” in the past. The nickname probably came about due to the colours of the bricks. Blood referred to the red bricks and bandage refers to the white bricks used to build the façade.

The Central Fire Station was gazetted a national monument in 1998. The oldest part of the building has been transformed into a museum where I learnt that the Central Fire Station was involved in the rescue operation of the largest fire in the history of Singapore, Boutique Who See Fire. The fire broke out in 1961 and made 16,000 persons homeless! I have never been made homeless but I could understand how difficult it was to have no shelter. I already felt empty when I had to sleep at my front door for a night cause I forgot my keys, what more been made homeless.

Don’t play with fire kids (syaqir, you're one of them)!