Every year lives are lost and millions of dollars' worth of damage is caused through fires in ships.
Human error is by far the most common cause of fires.
It is often a single careless act that endangers the lives of all the crew. These brief factual accounts of fires which occured in several types of vessel illustrate some of the risks. Every member of the crew has a part to play in preventing fires. And this applies not only to fire-fighting methods. The danger spots are machinery, accommodation and cargo spaces.