3 SCDF vessels & 30 firefighters deployed to fight fire on ship in East Johor Straits

A total of of three Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) marine firefighting and rescue vessels and about 30 marine firefighting specialists from Brani Marine Fire Station and West Coast Marine Fire Station were deployed to a fire onboard a vessel anchored in the East Johor Straits.

According to the SCDF in a Facebook post, the they were alerted to the incident at about 10:30am on Oct. 21, with the vessels and firefighters deployed from Brani Marine Fire Station and West Coast Marine Fire Station.

Upon arrival, SCDF used a water monitor to cool the exterior of the vessel.

Cooling of the vessel's exterior is known as boundary cooling, which helps to reduce the temperature of the vessel's metal structure.

Photos shared by the SCDF showed one of its vessels spraying water at the burning ship.

All crew members of the affected vessel were accounted for, SCDF said.

Firefighters boarded the vessel once there were no more visible signs of blaze

SCDF added in a second post marine firefighting specialists boarded the vessel with a water jet when there were no visible signs of fire.

They did so to ensure that the fire, which involved the vessel’s exhaust funnel, had been fully extinguished.

At the time of the second post, SCDF said it was carrying out damping down operations — that is, applying water to wet burnt surfaces immediately after a fire has been put out. This is to ensure that deep-seated embers are fully extinguished to prevent any rekindling of the fire.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Top images via SCDF