A Singapore firefighter has died after a fire on board a small chemical tanker.
The incident took place on the 7,500-dwt Sheng Hang Hua 6 (built 2022) at Raffles Reserved Anchorage, according to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore.
The dead man was named as 30-year-old Captain Kenneth Tay Xue Qin.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it was alerted to the fire just after midnight on Wednesday.
When firefighters from West Coast Marine Fire Station boarded the vessel, smoke was seen emitting from the engine room.
The SCDF said Captain Tay was with another firefighter in the smoke-filled engine room at about 3:30am to conduct the firefighting operation.
“While the [second] firefighter was directing his water jet towards the source of the fire, Captain Tay moved around the engine room with a thermal imager to detect other hot spots,” the SCDF said.
Based on body camera footage, which was analysed post-incident, Captain Tay is said to have appeared to encounter difficulties.
“The firefighter who was with Captain Tay noticed that he had not responded to his calls, and attempted to search for him at the part of the engine room where the firefighting was being carried out,” the SCDF said.
“At about 4:00am, another team of firefighters saw Captain Tay lying at the bottom of a staircase leading from the part of the engine room where the firefighting operation was being conducted, to a lower platform of the engine room.”
Although he was conscious, Captain Tay appeared to be unwell, and he was immediately evacuated.
He lost consciousness when he was brought to the open deck on a stretcher.
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation was performed on him on the deck and while he was being evacuated by an SCDF fast-response marine vessel to Pasir Panjang Ferry Terminal.
The ambulance crew continued with CPR en route to the hospital, but he was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Captain Tay joined the SCDF as a regular officer in late 2017 and is said to have expressed a strong interest in pursuing a specialisation in marine firefighting.
He successfully completed the five-week Marine Firefighting Specialist Course in May 2022 and was posted to West Coast Marine Fire Station as a marine rotation commander in January last year.
“SCDF officers like Captain Tay put their lives on the line each time they enter the scene of a fire, in order to save others,” an SCDF spokesperson said.
“We are deeply saddened by the death of our colleague. We extend our deepest condolences to his family and are providing them with our fullest support.”
All 19 crew members were safely accounted for.
