fighting fire on board
February 13th 2007 02:11
Fighting a fire on board:
Probably one of the worst case scenarios for a skipper and crew is to fight a fire on board. The integrity of the boat is at risk, the safety of the crew is very much at risk and on board fire fighting is not something you can be well trained in, like say spinnaker gybeing or crashing through the waves of a black nor easter:
How should you go about it? Firstly every person on board should be made aware of the fact that a fire exists. Some people may get in the way but then perhaps they should be given a job to do like filling water bottles ready for an abandon ship. It is a likely scenario that you may need to do this very quickly. On board fires are like home fires except it is unlikely the fire brigade will come roaring up to the rescue. If you can and if you have time a Mayday call can be made. Don’t be shy about this Mayday call. It is very likely your vessel will not survive the fire and so you are in “grave and imminent danger”. A commercial vessel on the other hand has trained personnel on board and is more likely to survive. If you have to cancel the Mayday, think how lucky you are! The fire needs to be assessed and the method of extinguishing decided upon. If it is a strong possibility that you will need to abandon ship someone should be preparing to do so. If you are the only person on board the decision may be simpler. Dump the liferaft over the side or the dinghy with a knife to cut the painter which of course is still attached to your vessel. With your escape route in place now face the fire.
Electrical fire: Don’t use water… This may of course be all you have in which case be aware that your electronics will not survive being drowned. If you are alongside a wharf or perhaps you are running a generator and have 240V power you are in situation where you can become a victim of electrocution if you use water. Carbon dioxide (black band), Vaporising liquid, ( yellow band) and some powder (white band) are best.
Wood, paper, plastics and similar products: Use water (red) or powder (white) or most other extinguishers.
Flammable, combustible liquids; This is scary as it includes fuels, paints, thinners which are normally on board. You are likely to have powder (white) on board or possibly foam, (blue) water will do virtually nothing but spread the liquid around your vessel.
Flammable gasses; Not a likely scenario on a recreational vessel, LPG, overcooking batteries, whatever powder (white) is about your only option.
Cooking oils and fats; this is going to be a galley fire and as such the fire blanket is best or the lid of a pot put back on the oil to smother it. Failing that use a glove or some protection and take the offending pot off the stove (turned off by now) and throw it overboard. You risk a pollution fine but better that than loose your boat.
It may be possible to starve the fire of oxygen by confining it in a room by closing the doors, windows and hatches. In an engine room make sure fuel, electronics are shut off. Be aware that the fire will continue to burn and the walls of the room may need to be cooled down with water spray. DON”T open the door unless you are positive the fire is out, as a sudden rush of fresh air (and oxygen) can reignite the fire and ignitable gasses quite suddenly. Another possibility in a small boat is to tip a bucket over the fire or smother it with blankets, towels, old clothes or similar. Stop the oxygen getting to it. Stop the source of fuel. Stop the heat being generated. Any one of these three will successfully stop the fire.
Fire hoses: If you are along side a wharf it may be that some well meaning person has turned a fire hose on your vessel. Fine if you need water to fight the fire but if not have them direct the hose on to neighbouring craft. A fire hose can quickly fill your boat with water and lessen your vessels survival by making it unstable and increasing the free flowing water effect. It is a devil you will need to live with. You need the water for the fire but you don’t want to sink your boat. Most hoses have adjustable nozzles and a fine spray can be used to build up a cooling barrier or even used on some conditions of a fuel fire.
After the fire is out; You now have a boat filled with fumes, smoke, water or foam, powder or what not. Vent and clear the area. In some cases the fire may seem to be out but can quickly reignite so post a guard on it with the right equipment to fight it further. “Cold and black” is how you want your fire. Empty your bilges of water. Your electronics will probably be down so this means buckets and sponges or maybe a siphon from a neighbouring vessel. Sooner or later you are going to need to contact your insurer so take the photos, write up the ships log (if it survived) and recall the sequence of events and how you reacted. Your insurer will want to know. Cancel the Mayday if you put one out or at least down grade it to a Pan Pan if you have survived and are still in difficulty. Take time to congratulate yourself on surviving and recreate the events and see if you could have improved on what you did.
It is hard to train for fighting a fire on board. I might suggest that the next time you are taking sundowners with crew or friends from other boats, talk through the different scenarios and how you would tackle them on your boat. This is a way of preparing for the worst. Otherwise just bury your head in the sand and hope it doesn’t happen to you.
Probably one of the worst case scenarios for a skipper and crew is to fight a fire on board. The integrity of the boat is at risk, the safety of the crew is very much at risk and on board fire fighting is not something you can be well trained in, like say spinnaker gybeing or crashing through the waves of a black nor easter:
How should you go about it? Firstly every person on board should be made aware of the fact that a fire exists. Some people may get in the way but then perhaps they should be given a job to do like filling water bottles ready for an abandon ship. It is a likely scenario that you may need to do this very quickly. On board fires are like home fires except it is unlikely the fire brigade will come roaring up to the rescue. If you can and if you have time a Mayday call can be made. Don’t be shy about this Mayday call. It is very likely your vessel will not survive the fire and so you are in “grave and imminent danger”. A commercial vessel on the other hand has trained personnel on board and is more likely to survive. If you have to cancel the Mayday, think how lucky you are! The fire needs to be assessed and the method of extinguishing decided upon. If it is a strong possibility that you will need to abandon ship someone should be preparing to do so. If you are the only person on board the decision may be simpler. Dump the liferaft over the side or the dinghy with a knife to cut the painter which of course is still attached to your vessel. With your escape route in place now face the fire.
Electrical fire: Don’t use water… This may of course be all you have in which case be aware that your electronics will not survive being drowned. If you are alongside a wharf or perhaps you are running a generator and have 240V power you are in situation where you can become a victim of electrocution if you use water. Carbon dioxide (black band), Vaporising liquid, ( yellow band) and some powder (white band) are best.
Wood, paper, plastics and similar products: Use water (red) or powder (white) or most other extinguishers.
Flammable, combustible liquids; This is scary as it includes fuels, paints, thinners which are normally on board. You are likely to have powder (white) on board or possibly foam, (blue) water will do virtually nothing but spread the liquid around your vessel.
Flammable gasses; Not a likely scenario on a recreational vessel, LPG, overcooking batteries, whatever powder (white) is about your only option.
Cooking oils and fats; this is going to be a galley fire and as such the fire blanket is best or the lid of a pot put back on the oil to smother it. Failing that use a glove or some protection and take the offending pot off the stove (turned off by now) and throw it overboard. You risk a pollution fine but better that than loose your boat.
It may be possible to starve the fire of oxygen by confining it in a room by closing the doors, windows and hatches. In an engine room make sure fuel, electronics are shut off. Be aware that the fire will continue to burn and the walls of the room may need to be cooled down with water spray. DON”T open the door unless you are positive the fire is out, as a sudden rush of fresh air (and oxygen) can reignite the fire and ignitable gasses quite suddenly. Another possibility in a small boat is to tip a bucket over the fire or smother it with blankets, towels, old clothes or similar. Stop the oxygen getting to it. Stop the source of fuel. Stop the heat being generated. Any one of these three will successfully stop the fire.
Fire hoses: If you are along side a wharf it may be that some well meaning person has turned a fire hose on your vessel. Fine if you need water to fight the fire but if not have them direct the hose on to neighbouring craft. A fire hose can quickly fill your boat with water and lessen your vessels survival by making it unstable and increasing the free flowing water effect. It is a devil you will need to live with. You need the water for the fire but you don’t want to sink your boat. Most hoses have adjustable nozzles and a fine spray can be used to build up a cooling barrier or even used on some conditions of a fuel fire.
After the fire is out; You now have a boat filled with fumes, smoke, water or foam, powder or what not. Vent and clear the area. In some cases the fire may seem to be out but can quickly reignite so post a guard on it with the right equipment to fight it further. “Cold and black” is how you want your fire. Empty your bilges of water. Your electronics will probably be down so this means buckets and sponges or maybe a siphon from a neighbouring vessel. Sooner or later you are going to need to contact your insurer so take the photos, write up the ships log (if it survived) and recall the sequence of events and how you reacted. Your insurer will want to know. Cancel the Mayday if you put one out or at least down grade it to a Pan Pan if you have survived and are still in difficulty. Take time to congratulate yourself on surviving and recreate the events and see if you could have improved on what you did.
It is hard to train for fighting a fire on board. I might suggest that the next time you are taking sundowners with crew or friends from other boats, talk through the different scenarios and how you would tackle them on your boat. This is a way of preparing for the worst. Otherwise just bury your head in the sand and hope it doesn’t happen to you.
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