The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1907-08-05
FIRE FIGHTING At SEA
Methods Of ExtinguiShnJ Flames
on Board Ships.
RIGID DISCIPLINE THE RULE.
When the Alarm Is Sounded Every
Member OF the Crew Has His Station
ard Carries Out the Particular Duty
Intrusted to Him.

or all disasters that can befall a
ship none is more dreaded 10y the
mariner than tire at SEA. Indeed, the
annals Of Lloyd's record few greater
ocean tragedies and, be 1t said, no
more conspicuous instances of gal
lantry and hertN effort than those con.
nectXd with ships afire.
No wonder, then, in view OF the
dreadful possibilities of nn outbreak
Of fire on board. that thorough knowl-
edge of the proper steps to be taken
in extlngulshing the flames at the out
set or ut least holding them in check
Is expected of every officer from the
captain downward.
Most vessels are nowadays fitted
with hydrants. several on each deck,
and In the case Of large liners hose
Is kept in handy places. ready 10 be
attached TO the hydrnnts at mo-
mcDt's notice. Moreover, every large
passenger boat carries number Of
portable eXtinguishcrs which can lie
strapped on II mans back. The spray
from these Is, of course, thin, but very
effective In subduing small outbreaks
where the fire has not secure' too firm
"a hold
Fire drill forms weekly feature IN
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 IL given, he takes his
position and carries out the particular
duty intrusted 10 him.
When an actual outbreak occurs the
fire alarm is II possible avoided. so as
Ia prevent panic among the passengers.
Word is passed quietly around, the pas
sengcrs being kept In ignorance rs
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
ell 10y the officers to give the passengers
a 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 he informed, but the news
Is always broken as lightly as possible,
and some special entertalnment-a con-
cert, IA dance, theatricals. and so on-is
got up to allay any natural feeling Of
nervous anxiety. or course II the fire
shows signs OF becoming unmanage-
able the boats are got ready and swung
out In case 1t appears necessary 10
abandon the ship.
Every boat on large liners IL kept
fully provisloned, 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 at These
usually occur amid the cargo I'm the
lower holds and are often spontaneous
In their origin. In such cases II Is
highly dangerous TO open the hatches.
The fire, which may have been smol-
dering for days. will naturally burst
Into blaze as soon as the air il ad-
mitted.
The proper course Is TO exclude the
air in every possible way: consequently
even the ventintors are stopped up.
If the holds are fitted with steam
pipes, the steam Is at 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 extinguisblng np-
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 If the
pipes are properly placed in each hold.
The steam or fumes are turned on
from the upper deck.
II 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 shal.
low water aud. II necessary. beached.
In any case the sea cocks of the par
tlcular hold are opened and the hold
allowed TO MI with water. This can
usually he done with very little fear
of the yessel fouud.rinv M madam