A burning smell wafted through my nose as we entered the car park. I was not expecting much. Yet I know that any screw up made will be costly. The incident description read " There's a house on fire. I see smoke from the window."The sirens of the fire engine which blared at Jurong West St 51 ceased and was replaced with a commotion by curious onlookers.

Adrenaline started to kick in. I got off the fire engine and without hesitation, my fireman took out a fire extinguisher. Rule of thumb in check. I proceeded to carry a 'rabbit tool' with me and headed to the unit on levele 3 via staircase, thankfully. Upon reaching the unit, I was already breathing in the smoke billowing from it. Goodness. Where's my BA set when I needed it the most. To the fire engine we go to get our BA sets. We have no time to waste.

"informative message, Black smoke seen from unit, resident evacuated prior to cd arrival, cd at work with 1x fire extinguisher,"

 A quick update to the ops centre on my handheld walkie before we entered the unit to douse our nemesis. Still clueless on its attributes.

Ready or not here I come. We used the torchlight on our helmets to illuminate our path as we trampled our way to the kitchen, where the fire was located. Approximately 3x2m.

Within seconds of filling the kitchen with CO2, we felt the heat dissipating. Mission accomplished.  A sense of accomplishment and relief took over.

With the emergency attended to, the follow up with the resident was next. Still in shock, the makcik in her 50s recounted the unfortunate accident to us, police and the medical team.

15 minutes later, a woman in smart wear came and embraced the makcik. Both burst into tears as the woman was thankful that her mum was alright and the makcik kept apologising for the mishap. I felt a lump forming in my throat and walked away to take a breather. I can't let my emotions take over me.

I was back at the fire engine and we made our way back to Jurong FS. The ride back was rather sombre for me but not for my crew. My mind was flooded with questions concerning the well being of the makcik and the state of the kitchen.

That was a turn out I'd never forget. Definitely an eye-opening experience attending to a kitchen fire which I'll hardly encounter at Tuas.

 My 5 hour stint covering Jurong FS provided with such an unforgettable experience. I felt connected with the child in me who looked up to firefighters and aspired to be one. It was a fleeting feeling but surely a golden one which is hard to come by. I will serve when called upon. For the child in me.