COMMERCE
Subscriber Services
Classified Ads
Subscribe
Advertise
NEWS
This Month
Editorial
Letters
F/V Safety
Past Issues
ABOUT US
Contact Us
Latest Issue
Subscribe
History
MORE CONTENT
CFN Archives
Links
Each month exclusively in the PRINT edition of CFN
Along the Coast
Ask the Lobster Doc
Bearin’s
Classifieds
Coming Events
Editorial
Enforcement Report
FISH SAFE
Fleet Additions
Letters
Lobster Market Report
New Boats
News Catch
Quahog Market Report
|
Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 34 Number 2
October 2006
Firefighting rules differ for smaller boats
Recently, I acted as marine safety instructor for onboard fires during free, six-hour marine safety workshops offered by the Massachusetts Fishermen’s Partnership in Gloucester and at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy.
Most of the fishermen who participated were inshore lobstermen, gillnetters, and commercial or charter rod-and-reelers, who fish two-handed and, sometimes, single-handed. Due to the limited number of personnel and size of these vessels, firefighting procedures are different than they are on larger, multi-crewmember vessels.
Firefighting dynamics change on small boats not only because of the limited crew and vessel size, but also because of vessel composition. In the Northeast, most smaller vessels are constructed of fiberglass and wood. Very few are constructed of aluminum or steel. This accentuates the potential for extreme volatility in any fire that breaks out.
Therefore, I will make a passionate recommendation and plea to smaller vessel owners: Place your immersion suits in the pilothouse and your EPIRB on the aft outside wall of the pilothouse to ensure instant access to two of your most important safety items.
Suit, EPIRB access
All too often, I observe immersion suits tucked away in the forepeak or bunks in the foc’sle. What you need to remember is that close to 90% of all fires on these vessels start in engine compartments or exhaust trunks.
Most engine compartments are open forward into the foc’sle. This allows the possibility of the fire spreading forward, which could impede quick access to the immersion suits or trap a crewman in the foc’sle with no alternative means of escape.
Install a couple of eyebolts and bungee cords in the corner of the pilothouse to hold the suits and you have a quick and easy immersion suit storage solution.
An EPIRB mounted on the pilothouse roof is time consuming and difficult to retrieve. Instead, mount the bracket on the aft outside wall of the pilothouse right by your way out to ensure easy access to your EPIRB.
The decision to abandon ship is a serious one but it may become the only option in an intense fire situation. Having access to your safety gear will give you the best chance of survival, and the precious minutes you will save by retrieving this equipment at the very start of a fire situation may give you time to launch your life raft.
First steps
Here are the first steps the captain and crewman should take – some of them simultaneously – if a fire breaks out either in the exhaust or engine compartment. Remember always to keep safety first.
• Call out to everyone on the boat that there’s a fire.
• The crewman should retrieve the immersion suits and EPIRB and place them on the aft deck away from the fire.
• The captain should place the deck hose in the exhaust trunk or on the engine compartment hatch to suppress the heat, and initiate a mayday call. And
• The crewman should obtain the portable fire extinguishers and prepare to attack the fire.
Attack the fire
After these steps, your actions will depend on the type of fire you must now fight.
In an exhaust fire, the captain must provide an opening or gain access to the exhaust and use water from the deck hose and portable extinguishers to remove the heat and extinguish the fire.
In an engine compartment fire, the captain first must secure a line or a boat hook to the hatch handle. Then, in preparation for opening the hatch, the captain and the crewman must stand on the aft side of the hatch. Standing aft of the hatch will minimize any exposure to a backdraft flare-up or explosion.
Next, the captain should slowly open the hatch while the crewman applies the extinguishing agent to directly attack and put out the fire.
During the firefighting process, the roles of the captain and crewman may be exchanged.
Fire triangle
Another step to consider when a fire is discovered is shutting down your main engine. Always bear in mind that a fire is a triangle; it needs heat, fuel, and oxygen to burn. When you take away one leg of the triangle, you put out the fire.
We know that most engine compartment fires start from faulty or chafed electrical wires, fuel leaks, or hydraulic leaks spraying on a hot manifold or turbo. Shutting down the main engine eliminates the fuel source of the triangle.
While I do recommend shutting down the main engine, it’s important to keep in mind that if you do shut it down, your water supply is eliminated. Your situation may be unique, warranting the need for water. So you make the call.
Once it’s out
When the fire is out, conduct a thorough examination of the fire area to ensure that all potential paths of fire spread are clear. Next, establish a reflash watch to keep an eye out for possible reignition. And conduct an examination to see if the fire has damaged the vessel. High temperatures can cause deck, bulkhead, and structural damage.
Fred Mattera
Back to story list
Read more about SAFETY - Click here...
|
|
Tell us what you think.
