Fire breaks out at East Coast Park boat storage compound, firefighter taken to hospital

A fire involving several boats and other items broke out at a boat storage compound in East Coast Park on Thursday (Oct 8).Thick black smoke billowing from the fire could be seen from about 300m away along the East Coast Parkway (ECP), and from locations as far as 1km away, including the Still Road area.The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) told AsiaOne that it was alerted to the fire at about 3.20pm.SCDF extinguished the blaze using two water jets.Fisherman Tony Sim, 66, told AsiaOne that he had gone out fishing with a friend earlier in the afternoon.After they cast their nets, Sim's friend returned to shore while he stayed behind to collect nets that had been cast earlier."As I turned around, I suddenly noticed thick black smoke," Sim said.Sim then filmed the fire and called 995 to alert the authorities. He added that he was "too anxious" at the time to be certain about what had happened.