Old SCDF fire hoses get new lease of life as toys for bears and other rescued wildlife in Laos
SINGAPORE — Built tough to endure years of firefighting operations, several decommissioned hoses used by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) will now be turned into toys and educational tools for bears and other animals in a Laos wildlife conservation sanctuary.
In all, 10 hoses were donated to a conservation group in Laos, said the SCDF, the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) and the Lao Conservation Trust for Wildlife (LCTW) in response to TODAY’s queries on Saturday (Dec 30).
“Due to the shortage of firefighting infrastructure in Laos, LCTW is unable to use fire hoses within the country. SCDF’s donation of fire hoses is therefore very meaningful,” said the joint statement.
Based in Laos, LCTW is a non-profit organisation with its roots in the 1990s and officially established in 2018. According to its website, LCTW rescues and rehabilitates wildlife from illegal traders, and houses around 400 animals of 70 different species.
“With the variety of wildlife cared for by the LCTW, including primates, pangolins and bears, the versatile and durable fire hoses will be repurposed and help to enrich the lives of these rescued animals,” said the two non-governmental organisations and SCDF.
Mr Kalai Vanan Balakrishnan, co-chief executive officer at Acres, told TODAY that since the hoses are made for firefighting, they are made to be extremely strong, which means the hoses can be repurposed for environmental or animal-related causes.
With some basic handyman knowledge and creativity, it is "not too difficult" to repurpose the hoses for other uses by the wildlife and nature groups, he said.
Acres had previously received over 40 hoses mainly used for its common palm civet rehabilitation enclosure and for its rescued Bonnet macaque, said Mr Kalai.
The joint statement also acknowledged SIA Cargo's contribution in sponsoring the air freight costs of flying the hoses over to Laos.
SCDF first announced that it was donating the decommissioned hoses in a Facebook post on Wednesday, stating that it was part of SCDF’s commitment to environmental sustainability.
“Soon, these hoses will be repurposed into toys and educational tools for rescued animals,” said SCDF in its post, adding that the donation will be conveyed through Singapore animal welfare organisation Acres.
In the past, SCDF had donated hoses to other nature and wildlife groups.
In April 2023, it donated old fire hoses to Resorts World Sentosa SEA Aquarium, where the items were “repurposed into ‘furniture’ and enrichment devices for animals”, according to an SCDF Facebook post at the time.
A few hoses were also repurposed into fences at Coney Island after they were donated to the National Parks Board.
The joint statement noted that SCDF had also donated decommissioned hoses to the Wildlife Reserves Singapore — which was renamed to Mandai Wildlife Group in 2021 — and the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme, and that these efforts were part of SCDF’s commitment to environmental sustainability,
