I GOT my new HDB flat recently and am busy doing renovation.

Like many other home owners, I intend to build a feature wall to hide the unsightly bomb shelter door in my living room. This is a burden as:

• I will have to open two doors to access the storeroom (bomb shelter); 
• I will have to spend money to build the feature wall; and 
• The feature wall will occupy space due to the protruding bomb shelter door handle.

Recently, I went to a condominium showflat and was surprised to discover bomb shelters are no longer required in future buildings.

I was glad as the rule change would allow me to dismantle the bomb shelter door and not face the burdens mentioned.

However, on clarification from the HDB, I cannot dismantle the bomb shelter door as the bomb shelter is still required in future HDB flats under Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) rules.

The other reason given was that the door is a structural item.

I would like the authorities to clarify:

• Why is the bomb shelter no longer required in private housing? Is it a case of double standards? Does the SCDF have a plan for condo residents in an emergency? 
• The bomb shelter door is not a structural item. It is a door on metal hinges that can be opened. In no way does the door support the bomb shelter stucture.

Terence Puey

This article was first published in The Straits Times on 18 July 2008.