3.4 Shipboard Fire Organization, Fire Parties & Fire Drills
Key Takeaways
SOLAS Chapter III Regulation 19 requires every crew member to take part in at least one fire drill every month, and the drill must be recorded in the official log book.
A statutory fire drill must include reporting to stations, starting a fire pump and producing at least the two required jets of water, checking a firefighter's outfit and personal rescue equipment, checking communications, and operating watertight doors, fire dampers and ventilation closures.
A shipboard fire organization has five standing elements: bridge command, an attack team, a back-up team, a boundary-cooling and support team, and an engine team, all coordinated by an on-scene commander.
SOLAS Chapter II-2 Regulation 15 requires a fire safety training manual and a fire safety operational booklet in the working language of the ship, held in every crew messroom or cabin.
Every ship carries an International Shore Connection so that a shore fire brigade can pump water into the ship's fire main from a hydrant or a fire appliance ashore.
3.4 Shipboard Fire Organization, Fire Parties & Fire Drills
Core Principle: A ship at sea is its own fire brigade. There is no engine to call, no second alarm, no mutual aid. Table A-VI/1-2 therefore opens with shipboard fire-fighting organization — the standing structure that turns a crew into a fire service within ninety seconds of the alarm.
1. The Standing Fire Organization
The muster list assigns every person to a fire station. The structure below is near-universal on cargo ships, with titles varying by company.
| Element | Typically Led By | Responsibilities |
|---|---|---|
| Bridge command team | Master, with a mate and a rating | Overall command, navigation and manoeuvring (bringing the wind on the beam or astern of the fire), external communications, distress alerting, muster accounting, liaison with shore |
| On-scene commander | Chief Mate (deck fire) or Chief Engineer (machinery fire) | Directs the attack at the boundary, controls entry, decides on fixed installations, reports to the bridge |
| Attack team (fire team 1) | Second Mate or senior AB | Two firefighters minimum in full outfit and breathing apparatus; charged hose; entry, search, extinguishment |
| Back-up team (fire team 2) | Third Mate or AB | Fully rigged and standing by at entry control; relieves the attack team, or enters to rescue it |
| Boundary and support team | Bosun / Second Engineer | Closes dampers, doors and ventilation; trips quick-closing valves; boundary cooling on all six surfaces; runs hose, tools and spare cylinders; pumps bilges |
| Engine team | Chief Engineer | Fire pumps, emergency fire pump, power management, fixed installations, machinery isolations |
| First aid team | Second Mate / catering staff | Casualty collection point clear of the hazard; oxygen, trauma kit, AED, stretchers |
| Entry control | A designated officer | Holds the BA tally board: names, entry pressures, time of entry, calculated time of whistle |
The Two Non-Negotiables
- Nobody enters alone. Firefighters work in pairs at minimum, and a fully rigged back-up team stands at the entry point before the attack team goes in.
- One person controls entry. Every set that goes in is tallied, timed and expected out. This is the mechanism that prevents a two-casualty incident.
2. Fire Drills: What SOLAS Actually Requires
SOLAS Chapter III Regulation 19 sets both the frequency and the content.
Frequency
- Every crew member participates in at least one fire drill every month.
- If more than 25% of the crew have not taken part in a fire and abandon-ship drill on board that particular ship in the previous month, drills must be held within 24 hours of leaving port.
- On passenger ships, fire and abandon-ship drills are held weekly.
- Every drill is recorded in the official log book. If a full drill is not held, an entry must record what was done and why.
Required Content of a Fire Drill
A drill that is only a muster is not a drill. Regulation 19 requires each fire drill to include:
- Reporting to stations and preparing for the duties described in the muster list.
- Starting a fire pump, using at least the two required jets of water, to show the system is in working order.
- Checking a firefighter's outfit and other personal rescue equipment.
- Checking the relevant communication equipment.
- Operating watertight doors, fire doors, fire dampers and the main inlets and outlets of ventilation systems in the drill area.
- Checking the arrangements necessary for subsequent abandoning of the ship.
Making Drills Worth Something
Rotate the scenario (galley, engine room, accommodation cabin, cargo hold, paint locker), rotate the casualty (a hidden dummy in a different space each month), and rotate roles so that the same three people are not always the attack team. Debrief every drill: what took too long, what could not be found, what did not work. A drill that always succeeds is testing nothing.
3. Training Manuals and Documentation
Under SOLAS Chapter II-2 Regulation 15, every ship carries:
- A fire safety training manual in the working language of the ship, in every crew messroom and recreation room or in every crew cabin. It explains the general fire precautions, the fire and smoke detection system, the arrangements for the use of extinguishing appliances, and the actions to be taken by the crew.
- A fire safety operational booklet covering the fire safety operational arrangements for cargo handling, cargo carriage and bunkering.
- Fire control plans — permanently exhibited internally with a duplicate set in a weathertight enclosure outside the deckhouse (see Section 1.4).
- A maintenance plan for fire protection systems and appliances, with the weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual inspections recorded.
4. The International Shore Connection
When a ship is alongside, the most effective fire pump may be on the quay. SOLAS Chapter II-2 requires every ship of 500 gross tonnage and upwards to carry at least one International Shore Connection — a standardised flange that lets any shore fire appliance or hydrant, anywhere in the world, be coupled to the ship's fire main.
| Feature | Standard Dimension |
|---|---|
| Outside diameter of flange | 178 mm |
| Inside diameter | 64 mm |
| Bolt circle diameter | 132 mm |
| Slots in flange | 4 holes, 19 mm diameter |
| Flange thickness | 14.5 mm minimum |
| Bolts and nuts | 4 sets, each 16 mm diameter, 50 mm long |
The connection, with its gasket, washers and bolts, must be stowed where it is accessible from either side of the ship and clearly marked.
5. In Port: Working with the Shore Brigade
A fire alongside is a different problem from a fire at sea. Practical points examined at Basic Training level:
- Raise the alarm to shore immediately — port control, the terminal and the fire brigade — do not wait until the ship's own attempt has failed.
- Send a knowledgeable officer to the gangway to meet the brigade with a fire control plan copy, a crew list and a headcount.
- Shore firefighters do not know your ship. Provide guides. The single greatest danger to shore crews boarding a ship is disorientation in a steel maze with no windows.
- Watch stability. Shore appliances can put many tonnes of water aboard very quickly, and a ship with restricted freeboard alongside can list, take water through openings, or sit on the bottom. Someone must be watching draught, list and free surface throughout (see Section 4.4).
- Have the International Shore Connection, the fire main isolation valves and the emergency fire pump ready before the brigade asks.
Which of the following must be included in a statutory fire drill under SOLAS Chapter III Regulation 19?
A full abandon-ship launch of every liferaft carried on board
Starting a fire pump and producing at least the two required jets of water
Discharging at least one portable extinguisher of each type carried
A live burn in an accommodation compartment under the Master's supervision
What is the purpose of the International Shore Connection carried under SOLAS Chapter II-2?
It earths the ship's hull to the terminal to prevent static discharge during bunkering
It provides a standard socket for shore electrical power when the ship's generators are shut down
It transfers the ship's fire control plan data to the terminal's emergency management system
It is a standardised flange allowing any shore hydrant or fire appliance, anywhere in the world, to be coupled to the ship's fire main
Why must a fully equipped back-up team be standing by at the entry point before an attack team enters a fire compartment?
So that a rescue can be launched immediately if the attack team is injured, disoriented, entangled or suffers an air emergency
Because SOLAS requires a minimum of four persons per hose line regardless of the situation
So that the back-up team can operate the fixed CO2 system as soon as the attack team enters
To provide additional weight on the hose line and reduce nozzle reaction force
More than 25% of a cargo ship's crew joined at the last port and have not taken part in fire and abandon-ship drills on board that ship in the previous month. When must drills be held?
Before the ship's next scheduled port state control inspection
At the end of the first full week at sea
Within 24 hours of leaving port
Only at the next regular monthly drill date
Sections you finish are checked off in the contents.