Romeo Tan 'felt suffocated' filming fire scene in firefighting gear, saved by SCDF personnel

Having played a policeman and a SAF officer before, actor Romeo Tan isn't a stranger to playing characters in uniforms.

That being said, the actor revealed that the firefighting gear in his new drama did take some getting used to. 

During the press conference for his new drama In Safe Hands on Wednesday (Feb 23), the 36-year-old shared that had to don the full firefighting gear, which weighed about 20kg, in a scene where he had to save one of his co-stars from a fire. 

In Safe Hands is a 10-episode drama series about a team of firefighters and paramedics in the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF). Romeo plays the role of Wang Junyi, Rota Commander of the fire station. 

"While I was wearing the suit, I felt suffocated. At that moment, the SCDF personnel on set came over and gave me some water," he said. 

During a phone interview with AsiaOne that same day, Romeo explained that the suit consisted of many elements such as a face mask and an oxygen tank, which made it cumbersome to remove. 

To save time during filming, the actor tried his best to keep the suit on for as long as he could. 

"I tried to endure it but towards the end, it was like I was almost seeing stars. It was a little bit scary because once you find that you cannot get oxygen, you start to hallucinate a little." 

Although he was able to recover within a few minutes, he says that the experience made him more mindful of his physical limits as an actor.

"If you know you can't endure it, then don't be a hero; don't continue, you really just have to voice out." 

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Looking back and comparing this role with his previous roles in uniform, Romeo says that this one is the "most challenging" by far.

"It's not just mental, but there's also a lot of strength and courage that is required for this role." 

In preparation for his role as Rota Commander, Romeo underwent two weeks of training with his co-stars to familiarise themselves with the workings of the SCDF.

These included handling various heavy equipment and heat acclimatisation, where the cast had to don the full gear and be exposed to heat for 20 minutes. 

"I think for most of the cast, we did get fitter after filming, even the ladies. I think we all got stronger and more powerful." 

In Safe Hands also stars Denise Camillia Tan, Tyler Ten, Fang Rong, Nick Teo, Zane Lim, Jarrell Huang and Desmond Ng. 

The series premieres on Channel 8 on Mar 7 at 7.30pm with a new episode every weekday. It will also be available on meWATCH. 

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claudiatan@asiaone.com