Fires & Fire fighting

What ever fire your faced with NEVER let the fire get between you and your exit

Dry Powder puts out all types of fires well

Fire-fighting Situations

(Q) What is the triangle for a fire to start?
(a) Fuel - Oxygen and Heat

(Q) What would happen if you took one of the sides of the triangle away?
(a) The fire would stop

(Q) How many fire hoses do you have in your vessel?
(a) Look in the Record of Particulars for this information remember to count portable fire hoses and any hoses for washing the vessel down with.

(Q) What type of nozzle do you have at the end of your fire hoses?
(a) Either Jet or Jet/Spray Nozzle

(Q) Do you carry spare fire hoses on your ship?
(a) You should have at least one spare

(Q) How many fire Hydrants do you have?
(a) Check this out in your Record of Particulars

(Q) What fire extinguishers do you have in your vessel?
(a) Check this out in your Record of Particulars

(Q) Where are they stowed/placed at?
(a) Check in the Record or Particulars (your best to get a notepad and go around the ship and write down what extinguishers/hoses is where)

(Q) Why so many extinguishers in the engine room?
(a) Because this is the primary source for a fire to start

(Q) A fire has broken out in Number 1 hold, what are you going to do?
(a)

(i) Sound the General alarm to Muster the crew
(ii) Put out a Mayday
(iii) Get personnel to don fire suits and S.C.B.A. (Self contained breathing apparatus
(iv) Start all hoses up
(v) Spray the hatch with water
(vi) Get the liferaft's ready to launch
(vii) Get the portable emergency radios/spare flares/water/food and blankets ready to take to the liferaft's
(viii) Keep an eye on the vessels stability (with all this water going into Number 1 hold - you could loose your stability) so be prepared to start all bilge pumps and have portable pumps ready

(Q) What extinguisher can you refill on the vessel?
(a) Foam - Dry Powder and Water

(Q) How do you refill a foam extinguisher?
(a)
(i) Unscrew the top off
(ii) Empty the contents
(iii) Wash the inside of the extinguisher with fresh water
(iv) Mix up the foam mixture and fill it up to the mark inside the extinguisher
(v) Replace the seals
(vi) Put in a new canister (Co2)
(vii) Screw the lid on (Hand tight only)

Galley Fire

(Q) You see a fire in the galley, its a chip pan on fire, what are you going to do?
(a) Your priority is to make sure you do not get hurt, close the door for the galley, scream "FIRE" and make sure everyone is alerted.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Q) Can you manage to put this fire out?
(a) This would depend on what the heat source was, is it gas, electric, or diesel?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Q) It's an electrical source of heating, can you put the fire out now?
(a) Yes, outside the galley there should be an isolator switch, if I switch off the electricity to the fire, this would help, now I can go in and put a fire blanket over the chip pan, as long as I have a fire team alongside me.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Q) What would you do if it was a gas fueled cooker?
(a) Turn off the gas at the mains (Bottled Gas)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Q) What would you do if it was a diesel fueled cooker?
(a) Turn off the main fuel source in the engine room.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Q) What types of fire-extinguishers could you use on a chip pan fire?
(a) Dry-powder, Co2, Foam, try and avoid water, but if done in a certain way you could put it out with a water fire-extinguisher, but it would have to come out as a very fine spray

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Q) What are you going to do, if the fire blanket and extinguishers does not put out this fire?
(a) Go in with fire hoses with a spray nozzle attached.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Q) What type of call would you give the Coastguard for this type of fire?
(a) A Mayday, this fire can easily get out of control.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Engine Room Fire

(Q) The engine room fire alarm has went off what are you going to do?
(a) Sound the general alarm

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Q) What are you going to do now?
(a) Muster the crew at their muster stations and have a head count

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Q) What are the dangers with tackling this type of fire?
(a) In any engine room, there will be canisters of WD40 or oil drums, if pressure gets to them they will explode, also the fire could easily get around you and trap you in the engine room

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Q) How can you test you have a good seal around your breathing apparatus face mask?
(a) By placing a finger under the seal and you will hear the air coming out

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Q) How will you tackle this fire?
(a) Get someone don a fire-suit and breathing apparatus, roll out fire hoses, get fire-extinguishers to the engine-room, pull the emergency fuel stops, close off all extractor fans and vents, go in to the engine room and attack the base of the fire.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Q) What should you never let happen?
(a) You should never let the fire get between you and the exit

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Q) You have taken your vessel into the dry-dock for a paint and a fire has broken out in the accommodation, what are you going to do?
(a) If its a small fire then use an extinguisher and put it out

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Q) The fire is out of control, what are you going to do now?
(a) Sound the general alarm and get everyone to their muster stations and also inform the port authorities as their employees are all trained in fire-fighting as well as getting the port authorities to call for the fire brigade

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Q) Can you tackle the fire?
(a) As your in dry-dock you won't have access to water to pump the water to your main fire hoses

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Q) The fire-engines are away to a big farm fire 15 miles away and it will be 3 hours before they can attend to your vessel, what are you going to do now?
(a) With the help of the shore party you can connect a universal coupling so you can charge your main fire hydrants with water and then use your own fire hoses to fight this fire

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Q) A major fire has started in the engine room and your co2 did not activate, how can you put this fire out?
(a) By sealing off the area, stopping the fans, close off all vents, and pulling the fuel stops, then boundary cooling with either the hand emergency pump or the emergency pump located forward in the vessel powered off the spare engine

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Q) A major fire has started in the engine room and you have no fixed fire fighting systems on your vessel, how are you going to put this fire out?
(a) By starving it of air/fuel, close all vents/flaps close all doors into the engine room and pull the emergency fuel stops

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Q) Where are your emergency fuel stops located at?
(a) You need to look in your own vessel and find this answer out, its also in your record of particulars

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Q) How do you prevent a fire from starting on your vessel?
(a) By keeping it spotless, no oily rags, no oil spills, no bare electrical wires, batteries boxed in a steel box, extractor fans cleaned often especially the one in the galley, no smoking, keep bilges dry, never leave chip pans unattended, fit fire sensors, fit CCTV, fit a save all to prevent fuel oil spillages, have plenty fire fighting equipment, know how to operate fire fighting equipment, have self contained breathing apparatus onboard, have an isolator switch just outside the galley, never leave electric blankets on unattended, don't put clothes over heating appliances to dry, have a fire plan (this should be part of a muster drill), do more fire drills so your crew know what they have to do

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Q) A deep fat fryer, are they completely safe?
(a) No some of the older models only have one thermostat inside it and if the thermostat became faulty the chip pan would over heat and catch fire

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Q) What type of extinguisher would you use on a diesel fire?
(a) A foam extinguisher

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Q) You had a major fire in your engine room and you sealed off the engine room and activated your co2 fixed fire fighting system, but how do you know if the fire is out?
(a) Feel for any heat

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Q) There is no heat, how long before you can enter the engine room?
(a) You will not enter the engine room, why would you want to go into the engine room, after a big fire everything will be damaged so get a tow ashore and get the fire brigade to ventilate the co2 out of there, they are the professionals

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Q) What precautions would you take before fighting a fire?
(a) Can I tackle this size of fire, is there any pressurized containers near the fire source, do you know what is causing the fire - can it explode, do you have the fire fighting equipment to fight this type of fire, is the fire giving off toxic fumes

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Q) What would you do if the fire alarm went off?
(a) Make for the muster station

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Q) Your in the engine room and the fixed fire fighting alarm went off, what are you going to do?
(a) Get out of there and find out why it went off

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Q) Is it possible for the fixed fire fighting system to go off by itself?
(a) Yes

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Q) If Co2 activated itself into an engine room, is it safe?
(a) No its a gas and would kill you if you breathed it in and as its a gas it could explode

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Q) Where is your fixed fire fighting controls at in your vessel?
(a) Look to see where they are at

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Q) The fixed fire fighting system has an alarm that goes off when the door is opened, can you hear the alarm throughout your vessel?
(a) You should be able too

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Q) You activate Co2 fixed fire fighting system into the engine room and it put the fire out, you now ventilated the engine room, what dangers for personnel going into the engine room?
(a) There will still be Co2 gas in the bilges

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Q) How do you get rid of the Co2 in the bilges?
(a) Pump your bilges

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Q) The vent/extractor fan in the galley, what dangers with these?
(a) A fire starting in the pipe behind the fan

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Q) How often do you clean them?
(a) It should be pretty often

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Q) Freon gas that is used for freezing on ships are they safe?
(a) They are the safest form of gas for freezing

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Q) Is freon gas heavier or lighter than air?
(a) Heavier

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Q) Where would the gas sensor be placed for freon in the engine room?
(a) Right below the freon pump

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Q) A major fire has taken control of the vessel and the C02 has not put it out, the skipper has ordered the crew to abandon ship, you have lost one of two liferaft's, you cannot access the second liferaft's because the fire is between you at it, another vessel is close by, what can you do now?
(a) Get the other vessel to come alongside and launch one of his liferaft's and pass it over to you