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Safety & Security
Too Hot to Handle
10 February 2025
A gamified fire safety quiz designed to make learning about fire risks engaging and personal
Problem
Residential fires account for nearly 50% of all fires in Singapore. Notably, 68% of these fires were preventable.
These are often caused by:
unattended cooking (~40%)
electrical origin, such as electrical faults in wiring or appliances, overloaded sockets, and active mobility devices (~28%)
Despite extensive fire safety advisories disseminated by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) through mainstream media, social platforms, and People’s Association Community Emergency and Engagement Committees (PA C2E), preventable residential fires remain a pressing issue.
This raises the question: Why do these fires persist despite ongoing public education efforts?
Our Key Challenge
“How might we engage the public in an appealing and relevant way so that they are not only aware of what they need to do for fire safety, but also take the necessary actions to create a safer environment?”
Goals
Our vision is to foster a fire-safe community by
Increasing awareness of common home fire hazards and
Encouraging proactive fire prevention behaviour to prevent fire incidents
Our Solution: “Too Hot to Handle”
A gamified fire safety quiz designed to make learning about fire risks engaging and personal
At the end of the quiz, player will receive a personalized fire safety profile with corresponding fire safety tips and calls to action.
Success Metrics
Quiz engagement: Track the number of people taking the quiz
My Responder sign-ups: Measure the increase in users after quiz launch
Research and approach
We conducted several rounds of research using different methodologies:
70 people surveyed to understand Singaporean’a perspective of fire safety
2 x immersions to understand SCDF current engagement with the community
Immersion and guerrilla interviews during Pasir Ris-Punggol Community Resilience Day
Immersion at Hougang Post-Fire Blitz, shadowed SCDF in their engagement and education on fire safety and emergency preparedness
4 x stakeholders interviews with SCDF officers with experience in community engagement and emergency preparedness
30 user feedback on Quiz first prototype
35 user feedback on Quiz second prototype
Key insights and corresponding features
Citizens are generally aware of fire risks, but there is a gap between knowing, internalising and taking action. The challenge is getting citizens to translate that knowledge into effective preparation and response capabilities.
As such, we designed Too Hot To Handle to be an interactive 8-question quiz that assigns users to one of five fire safety profiles based on their habits and risk awareness. The quiz personalized recommendations to nudge users toward action.
We visited the Pasir Ris-Punggol Community Resilience Day on 12 Jan 2025.
1. SCDF’s goal is to deliver and land fire safety message tailored to different risk profiles.
Quiz have 5 personalized fire safety profiles with corresponding fire safety message.
Users are categorized into personas such as:
Community Hero – The neighborhood watchdog who looks out for fire risk
Power Kia – People who have a tendency to overlook electrical safety
Open Flame Uncle – People who are at risk with open flame incidents such as candle, incense, cooking
Karung Guni Royalty – Collectors and recyclers who are at risk for clear egress
Heartland Nester – Homeowners who might not be aware of HFAD, and difference between home and fire insurance
2. SCDF's long-term goal is to build a Nation of Lifesavers via MyResponder sign-ups.
Quiz includes a direct CTA to join MyResponder Profiles are designed with shareability and virality in mind. Users are encouraged to share their results on social media, helping spread fire safety awareness in a fun, engaging way
3. Citizens are generally aware of visible, day-to-day fire risks such as unattended cooking and faulty electrical appliances, but awareness of more indirect risks (e.g. incense burning, overloaded socket) may be limited.
Quiz included questions on indirect fire risks paired with corrective safety tips.
4. There is a significant gap in understanding post-fire recovery processes, especially around insurance coverage and temporary relocation plans. Many respondents seem unprepared for managing logistics after a fire.
Quiz has a profile that target homeowners, called Heartland Nesters which include a message on the difference between fire insurance and home insurance without promoting specific insurers
5. First prototype feedback: Players feedback that lacked context on the quiz purpose.
We included an introductory blurb to let people know that this quiz is about learning about their fire safety profile.
6. First prototype feedback: Quiz felt too long, and the options were too wordy and difficult to grasp immediately
We shortened the quiz from 12 to 8 questions, and also made the answer choices more concise
Solution Overview
"Too Hot to Handle" – An Interactive Fire Safety Quiz
Engaging & Relatable: Users answer 8 fun, scenario-based questions.
Personalized Fire Safety Profiles: Players are categorized into one of five fire safety personas.
Action-Oriented: Profiles include fire safety tips and CTAs to MyResponder
Outcomes and Impact
For Citizens:
Increased Awareness: A survey follow-up to see if there is an improvement in fire hazard recognition.
Higher Engagement: The gamified format has more participation than other more traditional engagement methods
For SCDF:
Boost in MyResponder sign-ups: An increase in the number of people joining MyResponder with launch of Quiz
Stronger Community Engagement: SCDF can use quiz in public outreach events for better resonance
6. Next Steps and Future Vision
The current prototype can be used by SCDF as part of their public engagement efforts on fire safety awareness. It can be accessed here: https://go.gov.sg/toohottohandle
Potential improvements
Explore partnerships with schools and community centers to integrate quiz into schools and grassroots initiatives
Optimize quiz UX for faster, smoother playability.
Long-Term Vision:
Position "Too Hot to Handle" as an ongoing engagement tool, continuously updated based on SCDF priorities.
By leveraging gamification, behavioural nudges, and community-driven engagement, the goal is to transform passive fire safety awareness into engaged learning and proactive action
Team
Fiona Pay | A Kanageswari | Tan Jieyin | Sufyan Selamet | Farabi