Source : Straits Times -21 Jul 2008
I REFER to Mr Terence Puey’s letter last Friday, ‘Only HDB flats required to have bomb shelters?’.
We wish to clarify that, under the Civil Defence Shelter Act 1997, civil defence shelters are required to be provided in new houses or flats.
This applies to all new residential developments, including HDB flats as well as private condominiums and landed houses.
However, developers or owners of residential developments have the option to provide either household shelters or storey shelters in their developments.
Household shelters are incorporated within each dwelling unit, while storey shelters are located at a common property area on each storey.
One design of the storey shelter is the staircase storey shelter, where the staircase in the residential development is hardened to double-up as a shelter.
There are existing residential developments such as private condominiums, which have incorporated such staircase storey shelters in lieu of household shelters in their developments. This may have given the impression that shelters are not required in private condominiums.
The household shelter or storey shelter is meant to protect residents in times of emergency. The shelter is built with walls, floor and ceiling that are strengthened with increased thickness.
The protective steel door installed at the entrance forms an integral part of the shelter structure to protect occupants against weapon effects such as blast and fragments.
Residents are advised not to remove or change the protective steel door as this will affect the overall integrity of the shelter and endanger the shelter occupants during an emergency.
We thank Mr Puey for his feedback and the opportunity to clarify that it is a requirement to provide shelters in residential developments, including private condominiums.
LTC N. Subhas
Director Public Affairs Department
Singapore Civil Defence Force
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