4.4 Firefighting Equipment & Procedures

Firefighting Equipment and Procedures

If prevention (4.3) fails, you have seconds to minutes to control a fire before it becomes unfightable. Know your equipment cold and have a plan before you ever smell smoke, because a burning boat gives you nowhere to retreat but the water.

Portable extinguishers and their agents

Marine hand-portable extinguishers are rated by the class of fire they fight and by a size number (the B-I / B-II system from 4.1). The common agents:

Operate any portable extinguisher with PASS: Pull the pin, Aim at the base of the flames (not the tips), Squeeze the handle, Sweep side to side. Stand with your back to an exit and, when possible, the wind at your back, and watch for re-flash after knockdown.

Fixed systems

A machinery space may have a fixed extinguishing system - usually CO2 or a clean agent - that floods the whole compartment. The discharge sequence is unforgiving:

1. Evacuate everyone from the space; the agent displaces oxygen and can kill.
2. Shut down the engine and ventilation blower and close every opening, damper, and fuel valve so the agent stays in and air stays out.
3. Discharge the system, then do not re-enter until the space is confirmed cool and has been ventilated. Opening the hatch early feeds oxygen to a smoldering fire and causes re-flash or backdraft.

A fixed system is exactly why the carriage table in 4.1 lets you carry fewer portable extinguishers.

Fighting a fire aboard

The onboard drill, in order:

• Alert and account: sound the alarm, get all passengers into PFDs and onto the open deck, and take a head count.
• Maneuver the vessel: turn so the fire is downwind - put it on the leeward side so the wind carries flame, heat, and smoke away from the boat and the people rather than across the deck.
• Isolate fuel and ignition: shut off the fuel supply and cut electrical power to the area (kill the battery switch). That removes the fuel and a heat source at once - two legs of the triangle.
• Attack the base with the correct agent using PASS; a fire caught early is beatable.
• Contain: close hatches and doors to starve the fire of oxygen and slow its spread, and cool adjacent surfaces if you can.
• Prepare to abandon: if the fire is winning, get out a Mayday with your position, ready the life raft and throwables, and be ready to abandon ship before you are forced to (see 4.6).

The engine-space fire

Most serious small-boat fires are in the engine compartment. Do not throw the hatch wide open - that dumps oxygen onto the fire and can flash it into your face. If you have a fixed system, shut down and discharge it into the closed space. If you must use a portable, discharge it through the smallest opening - a fire port or a cracked hatch - to hit the fire while limiting fresh air. Ventilate only after you are sure the fire is out and the space has cooled.

After the fire

Watch continuously for re-flash, ventilate, and then check for structural or through-hull damage that could start flooding. Account for everyone, recharge or replace any extinguisher you used before getting underway again, and report a serious casualty to the Coast Guard as required. On the exam the high-yield points are: PASS and aim at the base; put the fire downwind/leeward; shut off fuel and power; never open a sealed engine space (oxygen feeds it); and evacuate and seal the space before discharging a fixed CO2 system.