Among the vehicles that SCDF will roll out during Exercise Northstar is the HazMat Control Vehicle, which helps to identify hazardous substances, assess the extent of contamination and determine the mitigation approach.
Colonel Shaiful Herman Shali, director of SCDF’s HazMat department, told reporters: “(It has) the latest in terms of equipment and technology to detect and identify hazardous substances.
“Within this vehicle, we also have standoff detection capabilities, which allow us to visualise and detect chemicals that may be up to 5km away. This is very important in terms of early warning capabilities.”
The HazMat Control Vehicle, which is currently in its third generation, also has an unmanned aerial vehicle launch pad and analytical equipment for the identification of hazardous substances.
The HazMat Incident Management System that is within the HazMat Control Vehicle enables SCDF officers to conduct wide-scale monitoring during a hazmat incident.
Wall-to-wall monitors in the vehicle can track the air quality in an area, for instance. The system can also aggregate sensor data from various agencies.
It was jointly developed by SCDF, the Home Team Science and Technology Agency, the Defence Science and Technology Agency and DSO National Laboratories.
