3.2 Firefighting Equipment, Systems & Drills

Equipment Only Works If Crew Knows It

Coast Guard inspectors and Q161 writers care equally about hardware and organization. A charged extinguisher that nobody can find, or a fixed CO₂ system discharged into a still-ventilated engine room with someone inside, is worse than useless. Master 100 candidates must know portable agents, fixed systems, hose teams, and who does what under the master’s command.

Portable Extinguishers

Portable extinguishers are the first-response tools for small fires. Key exam and boarding points:

• Type and rating match the expected hazards (A, B, C, multipurpose A-B-C, Class K in galleys).
• Units are Coast Guard-approved (or otherwise accepted under the vessel’s inspection scheme) where required, with serviceable gauges, pins, seals, and hoses.
• Mount them where they can be reached without climbing through the fire — exits, passageways, and near high-risk spaces, not buried under life jackets.
• PASS method: Pull pin, Aim at base of fire, Squeeze handle, Sweep side to side. Stay low if smoke, and have an escape path behind you — never let the fire get between you and the exit.
• After any use, report and recharge/replace before the next trip; a partially used extinguisher is not "probably fine."

On small passenger vessels, place special mental flags on extinguishers for the machinery space (Class B/C risk) and galley (Class K/B risk).

Fixed Fire-Extinguishing Systems

Many inspected vessels carry fixed systems for enclosed machinery spaces and sometimes galleys:

• CO₂ or clean-agent systems for engine rooms smother or interrupt combustion in a sealed space.
• Wet-chemical (Class K) systems over commercial fryers.
• Some installations use foam or other approved fixed arrangements as the COI and approved plans require.

Before releasing a fixed agent into an engine room, the crew must typically:

1. Sound the alarm and evacuate the space — account for people.
2. Shut down machinery as appropriate and secure fuel supplies if procedures call for it.
3. Close vents, dampers, doors, and skylights so the concentration can build and oxygen is not continuously supplied.
4. Discharge the system from a safe station per the vessel’s instructions.
5. Do not reenter until the space is controlled, ventilated appropriately, and the atmosphere is safe — CO₂ can create a lethal oxygen-deficient environment even after flames disappear.

Exam traps: opening the space early to "check the flames," increasing ventilation during discharge, or rushing back in by smell. Fixed systems buy time only if isolation is done right.

Hoses, Nozzles, and Water

Where fitted, fire main, hydrants, hoses, and nozzles provide cooling water for Class A bulkheads, boundaries, and deep-seated combustibles. Masters and crew should know:

• Hydrant and hose locations; how to charge the fire main or pump.
• Nozzle patterns: straight stream for reach and cooling distant surfaces; fog for heat protection and smoke (training-dependent).
• Boundary cooling — apply water to bulkheads and decks around a fire compartment to keep heat from spreading, even when you are not entering the space.
• Water is not the primary agent for Class B fuel pool or galley grease fires; wrong water use spreads burning liquid.

Small T-boats may have limited hose systems compared with large ships, but the principles — cool, protect exposures, do not feed Class B with a solid stream into fuel — still apply.

Attack Methods and Space Isolation

Two complementary strategies:

Direct attack — apply the correct portable or hose agent to the seat of a small, accessible fire with an escape route. Best when discovery is early and the class is matched.

Isolation / indirect approach — close the space, secure ventilation and fuel, cool boundaries, and use fixed systems. Best when the space is too hot, too smoky, or too large for a safe portable attack, or when the fixed system is designed for that compartment.

Always protect escape routes for passengers and keep one path open for the fire team. Smoke kills faster than flame on passenger boats with enclosed cabins.

Organization of Fire Drills on Small Passenger Vessels

Regulations and the COI framework require drills and instructions so the crew can actually perform. A professional fire drill on a Master 100 boat is more than ringing a bell:

1. Alarm — how fire is reported (shout, panel, passenger phone call) and how the master is notified.
2. Stations — who takes extinguishers, who isolates ventilation/fuel, who controls passengers, who prepares radios and rafts if the fire escalates.
3. Passenger control — move people upwind/uphill of smoke, keep exits clear, prevent rail rushes that create stability or MOB problems.
4. Communications — internal commands plus readiness to transmit distress/urgency if the fire is not quickly controlled.
5. Debrief and log — correct mistakes; record the drill as required.

Drills should vary scenarios: galley, engine room, electrical panel, trash in a passenger space. Night and full-load conditions expose real weaknesses.

Master Command Duties

When "Fire!" is reported, the master remains in command of priorities:

Do not let tunnel vision on the extinguisher ignore headcount, smoke direction, or fuel still feeding the fire. Owners and schedules do not outrank an untenable engine-room fire under way with a full load.

After the fire

Even a "knocked down" fire needs overhaul (check for reflash), atmosphere caution after CO₂, damage assessment, and required reports. Do not sail again until firefighting capability and vessel fitness are restored.

Mastery of equipment names without drill discipline fails both the exam and the boarding. Treat systems, hoses, and the fire bill as one package under the master’s command.