In the early years, the officers of the Singapore Fire Brigade (SFB) relied on IFE examinations to qualify for promotions to the next higher rank. By 1970s, there were sufficient qualified IFE members to form a Singapore Branch to address the need for professional qualification in the SFB. With the establishment of the Singapore Branch, the administration of the IFE examinations could be handled locally and in addition, the Branch is able to retain half of the members’ annual subscriptions and used the fund for the administration of the local branch.
In 1974, a pro-tem committee was formed and the first meeting was held in 191B Goldhill Plaza, Thomson Road, with administrative support provided by IFE (UK) member, Mr. Chan Thai Ho. The pro tem committee consisted of the following pioneer members:
On 28th December 1974, at the first meeting of the pro tem committee, it was the committee’s unanimous decision that the IFE Singapore Branch should be formed without any delay. IFE (UK) was informed of the decision and the IFE (UK) Singapore Branch was registered with the Registrar of Society, Singapore and was approved on 7th April 1975.
Mr E.H. Whitaker, the President of IFE (UK), inaugurated the formation of the Singapore Branch during his visit to Singapore on 10th April 1975 at the Imperial Oberoi Hotel at no. 1 Jalan Rumbia, Singapore 9.
Today, although the fire officers are no longer required to sit for the IFE examinations to qualify for their promotions, the local Branch of IFE (UK) has attracted memberships from many fire professionals ranging from fire consultants, fire protection engineers, fire safety engineers, fire safety managers, fire systems suppliers and installers, crisis managers etc.