Karen Williams attends a training course and picks up some useful information
Everyone knows how to use a fire extinguisher - you pull out the pin, aim at the base of the flames, and squeeze the trigger. Right? Well, not quite, as I recently discovered when I spent two and a half days at a Merchant Navy college on a basic fire fighting course.
We started in the classroom with some theory, which emphasised prevention and the awareness of potential fire hazards. Did you know, for example, that engine oil finding its way onto a hot exhaust pipe is one of the commonest causes of engine fires on yachts? That’s because engine oil has a low self ignition temperature. Similarly, many ships have been lost simply because someone let some frying pan fat catch fire.
It was a salutary lesson to discover how quickly a fire can spread: drop a lighted cigarette on soft furnishing and in less than three minutes the whole boat could be ablaze. We also learned about the dangers of carbon monoxide: an invisible and odourless gas which is given off from smouldering wood, and upholstery foam as well as other types of burning plastic, including GRP. You can become unconscious in just a few minutes and will need to be rescued quickly if you’re to survive.
Fires are usually the result of a series of things going wrong. For example, a charter yacht we know operated quite happily out of Seattle for several seasons then moved to the Caribbean. On the delivery she spent a long time under power and in the middle of the night smoke was seen coming from behind some panelling in the saloon. Ripping it out with an axe was the only way to reach the source, and the crew were down to their last extinguisher before it was finally put out.
The blaze occurred because the yacht fitters had cut away a portion of the lagging round the exhaust pipe in order to make the panelling fit - so the exhaust was running at 316ºC (600ºF) with a piece of wood held firmly against its bare metal surface. But, it wasn’t until the yacht reached the warm tropical waters off Mexico that the metal became hot enough to actually set the wood alight.
Luckily, the skipper had undergone fire fighting training and knew to search the yacht for ‘secret burning’ which is when hot gases rise behind panelling, or when a fire smoulders its way along ducting or other hidden spaces, only to reappear some distance away from the original fire. By following the exhaust pipe behind the panelling into another cabin, they discovered a further problem. Over a period of time, a leak from the wet muffler had corroded the exhaust pipe so badly that exhaust gases were escaping into the cabin. The crew member sleeping there was extremely lucky to be alive.
Which type and when?
Most yachts carry fire extinguishers and for commercial craft it’s a legal requirement. There are four different types available; older ones will be clearly colour coded so you know what’s in them and what type of fires they’re suitable for. But extinguishers produced to the new European standard EN3 will all be red, so you can't tell what’s in them unless you read the instructions. As a special concession in the UK, 5% of the case can still be in the old colour, which may be in the form of a coloured band or just coloured lettering. Incidentally, if you have any Halon extinguishers, you should replace as after December 2003, they have become illegal.
In the meantime, it’s worth remembering that to use the wrong extinguishant to put out certain types of fire can be disastrous. A graphic demonstration of why you should never use water on flammable liquid fires was shown to us on video. A fireman poured a cup of water into a saucepan of burning liquid and the resulting fireball would have filled the cabin of the average sized yacht. That’s because one unit of water produces 1700 units of steam, and will do so with explosive force, blowing the burning liquid both over you and your boat, with horrific results.
Foam is suitable for liquid fires, but should never be aimed into a burning liquid, rather at the inside edge of the container. On an open spill fire, you direct the foam jet upwards and sweep side to side to allow the foam to drop onto the fire. Similarly, with CO2 a sweeping motion above the fire is best. (Note: never use CO2 in small, occupied spaces.) We also looked at the dangers of reignition and what happens to gas bottles in a fire- as they can explode at certain temperatures.
Then came the exciting part: protective clothing, helmet and boots, and off we went to the fire ground to try for ourselves. Over two and a half days we practised with fire extinguishers and blankets and also learned how to use breathing apparatus to search an enclosed space, rescue a casualty and put out a fire.
Invest in safety
It might be a pyromaniac’s dream come true, but I was having nightmares about doing the course. However, I was so impressed, I’m going back soon to do the advanced course.
There’s a very useful half-day course for yachtsmen but why, I wondered, is it not included somewhere in the RYA's cruising scheme? Training Manager, James Stevens, had apparently looked at it in the past but the RYA thought it might act as a disincentive if the requirements were made too onerous. But, he added, these courses are fun and "we should certainly encourage people to do them".
My own feelings were echoed by Neil Millerchip of Raymarine, who organised a course for skippers of their test-bed boat, a Halmatic 35 launch kept at Port Solent. Neil considered the half-day course excellent value for money. "As a keen leisure sailor myself," he said, "I would highly recommend this training for all small boat users who may one day have to face a fire onboard, at sea with no-one else around to help."
Top tips that could save your life:
- Raise the alarm on board immediately.
- Be prepared to send a Mayday.
- Try to put it out if possible but make sure your exit is clear.
- Know what sort of extinguisher you can use on what sort of fire and how to use it safely.
- Prevent reignition by isolating fuel or electric supplies, removing oxygen, or damping down with water as appropriate.
- Check for secret burning.
- If you can’t extinguish the fire, restrict it by closing doors and hatches, and get everyone off the boat.
Ratings
The letter part of the extinguisher classification tells you what type of fire you can use it on while the number is an indication of the size of fire it can extinguish; the higher the number, the bigger the fire.
Fire classifications
- A type: solid materials (e.g. paper, wood, textiles...)
- B type: liquids (e.g. fuel, paint, fats...)
- C type: gases (e.g. butane, propane...)
- D type: metals
Electrical fires fall into all categories, but ensure the electric supply is properly isolated before using an extinguisher.
What type?
For general use, a 5A/34B rating should be fine, and are available in sizes under 2.5kg. However, fire authorities recommend that you should also carry a larger one with a 13A/113B rating which could be kept in the cockpit locker. For engine areas, you’ll need one with an ABC rating - foam, powder or Halon (which is being phased out due to its potentially damaging effect on the environment) are suitable.
Where to store your extinguisher
The best place to stow an extinguisher is near the exits - that way you can grab it on the way out and fight the fire with a clear escape route. It’s also best to keep fire blankets away from the galley area so you can still access them during a blaze.
First published in Practical Boat Owner September 2001.
Reproduced with kind permission of Karen Williams/ Practical Boat Owner/IPC+ Syndication
