More information about the firefighter who died while combating a blaze onboard a marine vessel on May 16 has been released by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).

Captain Tay Xue Qin Kenneth, 30, was part of the first response crew involved in putting out the fire that broke out in a China-flagged tanker's engine room.

According to SCDF, Tay was a regular officer who had excelled in various proficiency and certification tests.

A regular since 2017

Tay joined SCDF as a regular officer and began 28 weeks of training in the Rota Commander Course (RCC) on Dec. 26, 2017.

During RCC, Tay attained "Gold" standard for his Individual Physical Proficiency Test (IPPT), and an "A" in Breathing Apparatus Proficiency Test (BAPT).

He was a Rota Commander at Changi Fire Station until Nov. 15, 2020 and was later posted as a Public Education Officer at 1st SCDF Division.

"While at 1st SCDF Division, CPT Kenneth expressed a strong interest in pursuing a specialisation in marine firefighting," SCDF wrote.

He successfully completed the five-week Marine Firefighting Specialist Course (MFFSC) on May 31, 2022, where he attained a "Distinction" standard for his Marine Firefighting Specialist Certification Test (MFSCT).

He was posted to West Coast Marine Fire Station as a Marine Rota Commander on Jan. 16, 2023.

In 2023, he continued to maintain a "Gold" standard for his IPPT and a "Distinction" standard for his MFSCT.

Ceremonial funeral

"SCDF officers, like CPT Kenneth, put their lives on the line each time they enter the scene of a fire, in order to save others," SCDF said.

All the 19 crew members of the vessel were safely accounted for in the incident, SCDF added.

"SCDF is deeply saddened by the death of our colleague CPT Kenneth. We extend our deepest condolences to his family, and are providing them with our fullest support."

With the agreement of his family, a ceremonial funeral will be held to honour Tay.

What happened

At about 12:15am on May 16, the SCDF was alerted to a fire on board a marine vessel anchored in the southwest of Singapore.

SCDF arrived at the scene about an hour later at 1:15am.

Tay was with another firefighter in the smoke-logged engine room at about 3:30am to conduct the firefighting operation.

Both were wearing their personal protective equipment.

While the other firefighter was directing his water jet towards the source of the fire, Tay was moving around the engine room with a thermal imager to detect other hot spots, SCDF said.

Footage from body-worn camera later showed that at about 3:53am, Tay appeared to encounter difficulties.

The other firefighter noticed that Tay had not responded to his calls, and attempted to search for him at the part of the engine room.

SCDF said another team of firefighters saw Tay lying at about 4am at the bottom of a staircase about 4m down.

The area was where the the engine room, where the firefighting operation was being conducted, led to a lower platform of the engine room.

Tay was found conscious and evacuation was immediately initiated as he appeared unwell, SCDF said.

He subsequently lost consciousness and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was performed on him.

The ambulance crew also continued with CPR enroute to the hospital.

Tay was later pronounced dead at the National University Hospital.

Top photos from Kenneth Tay/Facebook