Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1907-08-05
FIRE FIGHTING AT SEA
Methods OF Extinguishing Flames
on Board Ships.
RIGID DISCIPLINE THE RULE.

Intrusted TO Him.
OF all disasters that can befall a
ship none is more dreaded by the
mariner than a fire at sea. Indeed, the
annals Of Lloyds record few greater
ocean tragedies and, be it said, no
more conspicuous instances of gal
lAntry and heroic effort than those con-
nected with ships afire.
No wonder, then, In view OF the
dreadful possibilities of an outbreak
OF FIRE OIL board, that thorough knowl-
edge Of the proper steps to be taken
Ia extinguishing the flames at the out
set or at 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 to be
attached TO the hydrants at a mo-
ment's notice. Moreover, every large
passenger boat carries a number Of
portable extlnguishers which can be
strapped on a mans back. The spray
from these is, of course, thin, but very
effective in subduing small outbreaks
where the fire has not secured too firm
q hold.
Fire drill forms a 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 Is given, he takes his
position and carries out the particular
duty intrusted to him.
When an actual outbreak occurs the
fire alarm is If possible avoided, so as
TO prevent panic among the passengers.
Word is passed quietly around, the pas
sengers being kept in 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
ed by 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 be informed, but the news
Is always broken as lightly as possible,
and some special entertainments con-
cert, a dance, theatricals and so on-is
got up to allay any natural feeling Of
nervous anxiety. OF course If the fire
shows signs OF becoming unmanage-
able the boats are got ready and swung
out in case 1t 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 at. These
usually occur amid the cargo in the
lower holds and are often spontaneous
In their origin. In such cases it 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 ad
mitted.
The proper course is to exclude the
air in every possible way; consequently
even the ventilators 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
of the fire hose, and water Is vigorous
ly pumped into the hold.
In one form of extinguishing ap
paratus, instead Of steam or water
sulphurous fumes are injected int
the hold. the fumes being generated
In machine specially fitted for tina
purpose. This injection method 1
highly effective and rarely fails If tn
pipes are properly placed in each hold
The steam or fumes are turned o.
from the upper deck.
II a fire breaks out in the hold an
assumes such dimensions that stear
injection is powerless to check it. tn
vessel is, when possible, got into sha
low water and, If necessary, beachet
In any case the sea cocks Of the pal
! ticular hold are opened and the hol
allowed to fill with water. This ca
usually be done with very little fea
OF the vessel laundering, as moder
built ships are divided into many con
partments separated by strong waite
tight bulkheads OF steel or iron. Sue
Is the buoyancy Of a vessel so col
structed that instances have bee
KNOWN Oh n craft dhOdb WI
only one or two Of these compartment
dry.
II the burning hold is very larg
one and by flooding it with waite
there is danger of the vessel founde
ing, the cargo in another hold
thrown overheard or "jettisoned," 6
II is called at sea, to counteract II
weight of water admitted into the fir
hold. AS last resource, the vesse
II In dock or shallow water, is sou
tied by opening the sea cocks. This h'
been done more than once In Tilbul
docks.
We seldom hear nowadays Of Fl
breaking out in the passengers qua
tiers on large liners. The introductiC
of electric lighting on board ship hi
no doubt conduced greatly to this II
Droyad state of matters When q 81