J&T Express courier delivering Shopee parcel helps customer put out kitchen fire, he used to be in SCDF

What are the odds?

What are the odds that J&T Express courier Aliff Anugerah would be making a delivery to a customer's Punggol home just as her kitchen caught fire on May 25?

What are the odds that Mr Aliff used to be in the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) and had experience dealing with just such a fiery situation?

He managed to put out the fire without anybody getting hurt and delivered the Shopee package safely to the customer too.

Now that is multi-tasking.

A video shows Mr Aliff helping a woman extinguish the flames on a kitchen stove with a damp blanket.

He told Stomp: "As I was approaching the customer’s house, I could see and smell smoke coming out of her flat. Sensing some trouble, I quickened my pace and saw that she was in distress. The first thing I did was to check in on her to see if she was okay.

"She then told me about a fire that was raging in her kitchen and asked me for help. I was taken aback at first sight of the fire. However, I stayed calm and collected, and began instructing the customer on what to do next.

"Thankfully, I have had prior experiences dealing with fires from an incident in secondary school and during my national service period in the SCDF, so I did know what to do when faced with a grease fire. I instructed the customer to help me prepare a wet blanket, which I used to put out the fire."

Mr Aliff credited the customer for coming through even though she was in distress.

"When I first came to her doorstep, I could see that she was in a panic and not sure about what to do," said Mr Aliff.

"But even so, when I gave her instructions, she quickly carried them out, which showed me that she was still focused and not in a complete panic."

He said the fire caused a lot of smoke. 

"Thus I believe a neighbour might have called SCDF. After I helped to put out the fire, I saw the fire team downstairs. I trusted that the customer was in good hands and left to continue on with my deliveries."

A J&T Express spokesman said Mr Aliff went above and beyond his duty to help a customer during a routine delivery.

"His brave act resulted in him suppressing the flames before they could spread further, potentially preventing significant damage to the property and harm to others. 

"Mr Aliff's remarkable actions and his selflessness truly deserve recognition," the spokesman added.

Mr Aliff said his actions were only possible because he was educated about the different types of fires and how to appropriately suppress them. 

He believes that this knowledge is crucial for the general public and hopes that more can be done to educate people regarding this.

That is how you get the odds in your favour.