One of the most frightening emergencies onboard a boat is fire. It can often take hold so quickly that the crew has very little time to react and often the only solution is to abandon ship. So here I am going to look at what you can do to avoid a fire starting in the first place, and the equipment you’ll need if the worst does happen and you are faced with a fire. On most vessels the main risk areas are related to fuel for cooking, to petrol stored onboard, or engine fires.
Care with petrol.
Let’s look at petrol first. On yachts this volatile fuel is most often a small supply carried for use in an outboard motor to power a tender.The safest – and healthiest – solution is to row everywhere, but for many people, of course, this is impractical. If you do have an outboard and a fuel container onboard, the safest place for both is on deck, probably lashed to the pushpit. If you then make it a rule to refuel the outboard while it is on its bracket on the pushpit, or when it is attached to the dinghy, there should be no danger of petrol or vapour getting below. It may sound obvious, but do make sure no-one nearby is smoking while you refuel.
Some people like to carry spare fuel in their gas locker, but my view is that if the container is hidden away in a confined space you’re less likely to notice if the cap is not properly sealed and is leaking. If the container is on deck, leaks or vapour smells should be immediately obvious.
On motorboats with petrol-powered outboards always ensure fuel lines are sound and that you mop up any slight leaks or spillages when connecting the fuel tanks. Always follow a proper start-up procedure for petrol-powered inboards or stern drives, ensuring non-spark vent fans are used when fitted. Again, ensure no-one is smoking in the vicinity when refuelling.
LPG safety
The second, and most dangerous, risk area is cooking fuel and for most of us that means Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) in the form of butane or propane. LPG can be a hazard because it is highly flammable and readily combines with air to form an explosive mix that sinks in air and may spread into low level enclosed spaces such as engine and bilge areas.It is possible to minimise this risk by taking a few simple precautions. Firstly, make sure your gas installation has been carried out by a competent, Corgi registered gas installer and that you are using a modern cooker fitted with automatic shut-off valves which cut the gas supply if the flame goes out. After that, it is down to good safety procedures. Get into the habit of shutting the gas off at the cylinder when not in use, either by manually closing the valve or using a solenoid switch.
Before changing cylinders, check that the valves are turned off and make sure that you re-tighten the connections firmly. Gas cylinders should be kept in a sealed locker with a vent at the bottom which drains overboard. It is important to check that the drain is not blocked with leaves, debris, or that old rag that you’ve always kept in the locker. The British Waterways Boat Safety Scheme produce a leaflet on LPG safety which can be obtained from tel: 01923 201278 or www.boatsafetyscheme.com
If you use paraffin for cooking don’t be lulled into thinking it is not a dangerous fuel. I once saw a pressurised paraffin tube come off a cooker while the cooker was lit, resulting in burning paraffin being sprayed all over the galley. In that case, the owner had fitted a new cooker and only connected the paraffin supply tube with a single hose clamp – which gave way. The boat was of ferrocement construction and survived, but if it had been GRP I’m sure it would have been totally destroyed.
Engine fires
The final risk area is in the engine compartment. Fires here usually result from oil or fuel leaks or spills which have not been properly cleaned up. Many engine fires are the result of an electrical problem creating sparks which ignite old oil or oil-soaked noise insulation material. Maintaining a clean engine room will deprive a fire of its necessary fuel and could prevent a major flare-up.
Fighting fires
What if the worst happens and you do actually get a fire onboard? The first principle of fire fighting is not to put anyone in danger – so you’ll have to make a quick assessment. Only tackle the fire if you can do so without putting your crew at risk. This means that you must have a clear escape route, there must be no toxic fumes or heavy smoke and no risk of immediate explosion. If any of these risks are present, get out and leave it to the professionals.Assuming that it is safe to fight the fire, you’ll need a fire extinguisher. As a minimum you should have at least one suitable fire extinguisher in each cabin – to aid escape – and ideally a fire extinguisher in a cockpit locker in case you can’t get below to reach the extinguisher in the saloon.
Suitable extinguishers
What is a suitable extinguisher? Fires are categorised as;- Type A – freely burning materials
- Type B – flammable liquids
- Type C – flammable gases
- Type D – flammable metals
- Type F – cooking oil and fat
There is also a further category for electrical hazards.
On most boats, any fire is likely to be of type A, B or C and the best type of fire extinguisher to use is an ABC dry powder extinguisher. Do remember, though, that water is very effective for Type A fires and you will have a plentiful supply of that around you.
Fire ratings are marked on modern fire extinguishers, for example 5A/34B. The bigger the number in the fire rating, the bigger the fire on which the extinguisher has been tested and you would be well advised to go for the largest number that you have space for. ‘A’ and ‘B’ refer to the category of fire as listed above. You should consider 5A/34B as the minimum in each cabin.
Make sure that the contents indicator of any fire extinguisher you have is in the green section of the gauge. Check regularly, and if any are in the red section have them recharged.
For engine fires, a fire-fighting hole in the engine access hatch saves having to open the compartment and let in more oxygen which will feed the fire.
Be aware that dry powder is extremely corrosive, particularly to electrical wiring, and if you use it your engine will require major remedial work.
A better solution for engine compartments is an automatic fire extinguisher system using halon replacement gas. It has been illegal to have a halon fire extinguisher (normally green in colour) since the beginning of 2004. If you still have one, replace it with one of the new halon replacement types and return your old halon extinguisher to your chandler.
Fire blankets
For galley fires, the best solution is to use a fire blanket, which can also aid escape by shielding you or somebody else from the fire. It is important that the blanket is stowed in a safe location. All too often a fire blanket is mounted behind the cooker where you’d have to reach over the fire to get at it. Far better is to mount the blanket on a bulkhead or in a locker well away from the likely source of the flame.You may also want to consider the age of your fire blanket. Modern blankets are marked as complying with BS 6575 or, more recently, with BS EN 1869. Blankets manufactured before 1985 (when the earlier standard was introduced) may well have deteriorated and now be ineffective.
Finally, if a fire does start and you can’t put it out quickly, you need to think seriously about abandoning ship. If there is a spare crew member not involved in fighting the fire, they should be tasked with moving the liferaft to a safe place away from the fire, preparing the dinghy to be launched, or sending a Mayday message.
First published in Practical Boat Owner February 2005.
Reproduced with kind permission of Rick Raeburn/ Practical Boat Owner/IPC+ Syndication.