SINGAPORE — A fire broke out late Monday night on a vessel anchored off the southeast coast of Singapore, near the Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) was alerted to the incident at approximately 9.35 pm, resulting in the swift deployment of marine firefighting and rescue resources.
In response to the incident, a team of approximately 40 marine firefighting specialists from the Brani and West Coast Marine Fire Stations were rapidly mobilised. In conjunction, four SCDF marine firefighting and rescue vessels were dispatched to the scene.
Upon reaching the anchored vessel, the marine firefighting specialists boarded and promptly took action to control the situation. The blaze, which was confined to two accommodation decks, was swiftly extinguished using a high-pressure water jet.
In addition to combating the fire from within, three exterior water jets were employed to cool down the vessel’s metallic structure, a process known as boundary cooling. This action is crucial in reducing the vessel’s temperature and preventing the fire from spreading to other sections.
Following the successful extinguishing of the fire, a process known as ‘damping down’ was conducted, which involved the application of water to wet the burnt surfaces immediately after the fire had been put out. This measure is taken to prevent the potential rekindling of the fire. This operation continued until about 5.00 am on Tuesday.
Thankfully, no injuries were reported from the incident, and all crew members aboard the affected vessel have been accounted for. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation by authorities.
Netizens cheered the swift actions of SCDF; one wrote, “Outstanding job by a response force that’s created a first-class marine response team!”
