Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1907-09-04
FIRE FIGHTING AT SEA
Methods of Extinguishing Flames
on Board Ships.
RIGID DISCIPLINE THE RULE.
When the Alarm IL Sounded Every
Member Of the Crew Has His Station
and Carries Out the Particular Duty
Intrusted to Him

"emoer OF tnc Grew ras His Station
and Carries Out the Particular Duty
Intrustsd to Him
or all disasters that can bcfaH a
ship none Is more dreaded by the
mariner than a fire ut sea. Indeed. the
annals of Lloyd's record few greater
ocean tragedies and, be II said. no
more conspicuous instances OF gal
lnntry and heroic effort than those con-
nccted with ships afire.
No wonder. then. in view OF the
dreadful possibilities OF an outbreak
OF Gre on board. that thorough knowi-
edge OF the proper steps TO be taken
In extfnguishing the flames at the out
set or at least holding them I'm check
Is expected OF every officer from the
captain downward.
Most vessels are nowadays fitted
with hydrants. several on each deck.
aud In the case OF large liners hose
Is kept In handy places. ready TO Ice
attached to the hydrants at mo.
ment's notice Moreover. eyery large
passenger boat carries a number OF
portable extinguishers which can he
strapped on n mans back The spray
from these is. OF course. thin. but very
effective Ia subduing small outbreaks
where the fire has not secured too firm
hold.
Fire drill forms weekly feature I'm
the routine ON every ocean liner Ev-
cry member of the crew literally, from
captain TO cabin boy. has his fire
station allotted to him. at which.
when the signal is given. he takes his
position and carries out the particular
duty intrusted TO him.
When an actual outbreak occurs the
fire alarm Is il possible avoided. so as
TO prevent panic among the passengers.
Word is passed quietly around. the pas
sengers being kept I'M Ignorance as
long as possible. In fact. more than
one fire at sea has been extinguished
without any suspicion on the part of
the passengers that the outbreak was
other than an imaginary one engineer
cd by the officers 10 give the passengers
q chance OF seeing what could be done
In the event OF the real thing occurring.
In many cases, OF course. the passen-
gers have To be Informed, but the news
Is always broken rs lightly as possible.
md some special entertainment con-
cert. dance, theatricals. and SO on-is
got up TO allay any natural feeling OF
nervous anxiety. or course II Inc fire
shows signs OF becoming unmanage-
able the boats are got ready and swung
out I'm case IL appears necessary to
abandon the ship.
Every boat on large liners is kept
fully provisioned. food sufficient for
several days being contained In air and
water tight tanks.
The worst fires at sea are those
which cannot easily be got Mt. These
usually occur amid the cargo In the
lower holds and are often spontaneous
In their origin. In such cases II IS
highly dangerous TO open the matches.
The fire. which may have been smol-
dering for days. Will naturally burst
Into blaze as soon as the air is nd
mitted.
The proper course Is TO exclude the
air in every possible way; consequently
even the ventilators are stopped up.
III the holds are fitted with steam
pipes. the steam Is ut once turned on:
otherwise holes are cut In the deck.
Just large enough TO admit the nozzles
OF the fire hose. and water Is vigorous
ly pumped into the hold.
In one form OF extIngulshsng ap-
paratus. Instead OF steam or water.
sulphurous fumes are injected into
the hold. the fumes being generated
In machine specially fitted for that
purpose. This injection method Is
highly effective and rarely fails IL the
pipes are properly placed In each hold.
The steam or fumes are turned on
from the upper deck.
If fire breaks out IN the hold and
assumes such dimensions that steam
Injection is powerleSs to check II, the
vessel is. when possible, got into shall
low water and. IL necessary. bcached.
In any case the sea cocks of the par
tcular hold are opened and the hold
allowed 10 fill with water. This can
usually he done with very little fear
Of the vessel laundering. as modern
built ships are divided into many COM
partmc-s separated by strong water
tight bulkheads OF steel or iron. Such
Is the buoyancy OF vessel so con-
structed that Instances have been
known OF craft remaining afioat with
only one or two of these compartments
dry.
If the burning hold is very large
one and by flooding X with water
there is danger of the vessel founder
ing, the cargo in another hold is
thrown overheard or "jettisoned," as
1t is called at sea, TO counteract the
weight of water admitted into the first
hold. As last resource, the vessel.
II In dock or shallow water. is scut-
tied 10y opening the sen cocks. This has
been done more than once IN Tilbury
docks.
We seldom hear nowadays of fire
breaking out In the passengers quar-
tiers ON large liners. The introduction
Of electric lighting on board ship has
no doubt conduced greatly to this i'm
proved state Of matters. When a fro
does break out In the cabin, it Is usu-
ally soon detected. for constant
watch is kept by the officers and night
stewards, who make periodical tours
OF inspection during the nocturnal
hours.-Pearson's Weekly. -
Look on the poor with gentle eyes,