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Prevention | Types of fire
| Causes | Fighting a fire | Who
is "The Coastie"?
This comes from a true story! I had chartered an Island Packet 26 in 1985
from St Petersburg, Florida. Two of my friends and I were power-sailing North
just off of Anna Maria Island, trying to get into Passage Key Inlet before
the sun went down. I had the main sail up, there was a front coming in and
we needed to make it through the pass within the next hour. We were heeled
over on the port tack, when suddenly black smoke came rushing up through the
cabin house! I yelled for a crewmember to run below, find the fire extinguisher
and put out whatever fire he found! I shut off the engine, and the smoke started
to clear. Joe could not find a fire. We were lucky! Turned out that when we
were heeled over, engine on to make time, we pulled the intake for the raw
water to the engine above the level of the water! The engine overheated, (I
did get an overheat alarm at the time, but attributed that to the "fire"),
and managed to heat up insulation around the riser from the engine hot enough
to begin to combust. Luckily, the insulation was just in the process of burning
and had not completely started to be on fire!
Will something like this happen to you? Hopefully not. Will a fire happen
on your boat? Hopefully not, but you should be ready.
Prevention
- You should always check the bilge. It should be free of oil and grease.
- Clean up any spilled fuel or oil immediately and properly dispose of it
ashore.
- Check to see that there are no oily rags left around. If you need to use
a rag for checking the oil, make sure you deposit it in an area where there
is plenty of ventilation.
- Be alert for suspicious odors and fumes. Vent all spaces thoroughly before
starting engines.
- Check for abrasions, cracked wiring, or pinholes in fuel and lube oil
lines.
Types of Fires
- Class "A" fires (or Alpha) involve common materials.
Something made from wood, paper, cloth, rubber, and certain plastics. These
objects produce an ash when burned.
- Class "B" fires (or Bravo) involve flammable
or combustible liquids, flammable gases, grease, pretty much anything that
is a petroleum product.
- Class "C" fires (or Charlie) involve electrical
equipment that is "energized", in other words, the power is ON.
- Class "D" fires (or Delta) involve combustible
metals. Rare: one example is a flare.
Causes
The Fire "Triangle"
There are three elements to a fire: Remove one element, and the fire goes
out.
You have to have Fuel/Combustible, Oxygen,
and Heat to have a fire.
Oily rags
Why oily rags? Oil on the rag reacts chemically with the air, producing
heat. If there is no ventilation to move the air around the rag, the heat
produced by the oxidation stays around the rag, producing more heat.
Engine room fires
This is the prime area to be concerned with. Engine rooms are vulnerable
to many possible problems that can cause fires. Salt water spraying from a
cracked hose can hit an alternator, short-circuit the alternator and causing
an electrical fire. Fuel spilling from a cracked fuel line can land on the
exhaust riser causing a chemical fire. Overheating engines...well you have
heard my story!
Stove fires
Most boats have propane stoves now. You certainly do not want to set propane
on fire unless it is coming out of a burner on the stove. Some older stoves
are alcohol. Those had a tendency to be a problem due to the need to preheat
the burners. If you have set something on fire, (yeah, I have burned bacon
in a pan before...), and you have a propane stove, shut off the propane! Then
tackle the burned food.
Fighting a Fire
Types of marine fire extinguishers.
Dry Chemical and CO2.
Dry Chemical is a dry chemical! CO2 is a colorless gas about 50 percent heavier
than air. Both types are good on "A", "B" and "C"
fires. Water can also be used on "A" fires. When you discharge either
one, they are going to last only about 10 seconds. Make sure you are accurate
with your aim, and discharge the entire extinguisher. There is no point in
trying to save some for later: there will not be enough left to do anything
with it.
Using an extinguisher.
Remember the term PASS. "Pull" the pin,
"Aim" the extinguisher, "Squeeze" the
trigger, and "Sweep" the base of the fire.
Dry Chemical removes the heat element. CO2 removes the oxygen element. Water
removes both heat and oxygen.
Some engine rooms are equipped with a Halon system. This system is either
automatically operated or you need to pull a lever outside the engine room
to energize the system. Once a Halon system has been used, and the fire is
out, you must ventilate the space thoroughly before anyone enters the area.
Halon removes the oxygen from the area affected: if you open the hatch and
try to get into that area, you will not be able to breath.
Electrical fires. TURN OFF THE POWER! Then fight the fire. Electricity
is feeding the fire, once that has been removed, you are now fighting either
a class "A" or class "B" fire.
Remember to be upwind of the fire if you can. You need to evaluate if it
is time to abandon ship or fight the fire. Once fiberglass starts to burn,
you do not have a lot of time.
Fire fighting is best left to the professionals, but on a boat, there is
typically no time to wait: so do not hesitate, grab the extinguisher and put
out that fire!
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