SCDF officer dies after fighting fire on China-flagged tanker anchored in Singapore waters

SINGAPORE: A Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) regular died early on Thursday (May 16) after fighting a fire on a ship that was anchored in the southwest of Singapore.

SCDF was alerted to the fire at about 12.15am and firefighters from its West Coast Marine Fire Station boarded the China-flagged tanker, the Sheng Hang Hua 6, to conduct firefighting operations.

When the firefighters arrived, they found smoke coming out of the ship's engine room, where the fire at broken out, said the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) in response to CNA's queries.

"During the operation, a regular officer who was a rota commander paired up with another firefighter and they were conducting firefighting together inside the smoke-logged engine room," SCDF said in a press statement on Thursday afternoon.

"The firefighter was directing a water jet towards the source of the fire while the rota commander was moving around the engine room with a thermal imager to detect other hot spots within the room."

Rotas – short for rotations – are teams of SCDF officers that work in shifts at its fire stations. Rota commanders lead these teams.

While the firefighting operation was ongoing, another team of firefighters entering the engine room to support the operation found the rota commander lying at the bottom of a staircase.

The staircase led about 4m down to a lower platform of the engine room from the part of the room where the firefighting operation was being conducted.

"He was conscious, but as he appeared unwell, evacuation was immediately initiated. The rota commander subsequently lost consciousness and cardiopulmonary resuscitation was performed on him," SCDF said.

"He was evacuated to Pasir Panjang Ferry Terminal and conveyed by an SCDF ambulance to National University Hospital."

The ambulance arrived at the hospital at about 5.50am, and the officer was pronounced dead there.

"SCDF is deeply saddened by the death of our officer. We are providing the family with our fullest support," SCDF said.

The tanker is anchored and has no cargo on board, said MPA.

"The vessel is in a stable condition. There are no reports of oil pollution. MPA has issued navigational broadcasts to ships to stay clear of the incident site."

Investigations are ongoing.

In December 2022, a 19-year-old full-time national serviceman (NSF) died after a firefighting operation at a Henderson Road flat. 

Sergeant 1 (SGT1) Edward H Go, who was allegedly left alone to fight the fire, suffocated to death after his air cylinder was depleted.

He was the first firefighter to die because of an SCDF operation.