995

Last night, my colleague and I worked late to rush out something as my big boss will be overseas from this Saturday onwards and we need to get her to clear it asap.

After a long night and with my eyes going to shut anytime soon, my colleague asked me if I smell anything burning. Later, she directed me to the rooftop of Funan IT Mall where there were smoke emitting. However, we conclude there was probably no fire since the smoke was pretty clear, not the black "sooty" type.

She asked me what is the number to call if there is a fire. I thought that any Singaporean should know, especially those who went through the Singapore education. However, I forgot that she is a Hongkie wannabe. =P

I told her its 995 and asked if she knew the origin to it. "No" was answer. As usual, being extremely helpful, I shared with her the version I got from Primary School.

If you are aware, the 3rd President of Singapore is Devan Nair (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devan_Nair). It was rumoured that there was a fire at his residence once and his wife shouted "Nair, Nair, Fire" for assistance. That was how 995 came about.

She laughed at it and gestured to hit me (not for the first time already).

Today I got another version from an ex-colleague, which seems fairly reasonable as well. She shared that it is because it sounded like "救救我".

Whichever the true version may be, just remember to dial the correct number in times of need. Of course, it would be ideal if you never need to call this number. :)

Have a good weekend.