'At first, I was so scared (for his safety),' said Mr Yunnos, who joined the Singapore Fire Brigade (the forerunner of the Singapore Civil Defence Force) in 1962. 'But then, I thought to myself: 'That is part of his duty and my duty is to send the fire engines.''

Three victims would lose their lives that day because of the MacDonald House bombing, with more than 30 others injured.Īs Mr Yunnos looked out the window, one of the men about to be mobilised cut a familiar figure - it was his father. His instructions were followed to the tee - firefighters began to climb into their gleaming red vehicles, gearing up for a day forever seared into the annals of Singapore history. 'I said: 'Eh something is wrong!' I told the boys that they had to be careful, this is only the beginning,' recalled Mr Yunnos, now a sprightly 75-year-old.Ĭloistered in the second floor of the fire station's control room, Mr Yunnos gave the orders for his men to dispatch three fire engines. SINGAPORE: It was the afternoon of Mar 10, 1965, and 21-year-old Yunnos Shariff could feel the ground rumbling beneath his feet.Īs the fire alarm at the Central fire station on Hill Street sounded, louder alarm bells rang in his head.

Born in the fire