The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1907-08-09
Methods of Extinguishing Flames
on Board Ships.
RIGID DISCIPLINE THE RULE.
When the Alarm Is Sounded Every
Member Of the Crew Has His Station
and Carries Out the Particular Duty
Intrusted TO Him.


more conspicuous instances Of gal
lantry and heroic effort than those con
nected with ships afre.
No wonder, then, in view OF the
dreadful possibilities Of an outbreak
Of fire on board, that thorough knowl-
edge Of the proper steps TO he taken
In extinguishlng 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 i'm handy places, ready 10 be
attached to the hydrants at mo
ments notice Moreover, every large
passenger boat carries number Of
portable extinguishcrs which can be
strapped on "A mans back. The spray
from these Is, Of course, thin, but very
effective In subdulng small outbreaks
where the fire has not secured too firm
hold.
Fire drill forms weekly feature In
the routine on every ocean liner. Ev-
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 10 him.
When an actual outbreak occurs the
fire alarm is If possible avoided, so "A
10 prevent panic among the passengers
Word is passed quietly around, the pas
sesgcrs being kept In Ignorance as
long as possible In fact; more than
one fire at sea has been cXtingushcd
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
chance OF seeing what could be done
In the event OF the real thing occurring
In many cases, Of course, the passcn-
gers have To be informed, but the news
In always broken as lightly as possible
and some special entertainments con
cert, n dance, thcatricals, and so on-iS
got up To allny any natural feeling OF
nervous anxiety. OF course If the fire
shows signs OF becoming unmanagc-
able toe boats are got ready and swung
out 30 case il appears necessary 10
abandon the ship.
Every boat on large liners is kept
fully provisioncd, food sufficient for
several days being contained I'm air and
water tight tanks.
The worst fires at sea are those
which cannot easily hc got at. 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 hatchcs
The fire, which may have been smOl
derlng for days, will naturally burst
Into blaze as soon as the air Is ad
mltted
The proper course is To exclude the
mir In every possible way; consequently
even the vcntilators are stopped up
If the holds nrc fitted with steam
pipes, the steam Is at once turned on,
otherwise holes are cut i'm the deck
just large enough to admit the nozzlcs
of the fire hose and water is vigorous
ly pumped into the hold.
In one form of cXtiuguiShing ap-
paratus, instead OF steam or water,
sulphurous fumes are injected into
the hold, the fumes being generated
I'm machine specially fitted FOR that
purpose This injection method IS
highly effective and rarely fails II the
pipes are properly placed I'm each hold.
The steam or fumes are turned OH
from the upper deck
If fire breaks % I'm the hold and
assumes such dimensions that steam
injection Is powcrlcSs to check IL, the
vessel is. when possible. got into shall
low water and If necessary, hcaChcd.
In any case the sea cocks of the par.
tlcular hold are opened and the hold
allowed 10 ill with water. This can
usually hc done with very little fear
OF the vessel laundering rs modern
built ships are divided into many com
partments separated 10y strong water
tight bulkhcadS of steel or iron. Such
is the buoynnCy of n vessel so con
structed that Instances have been
known of craft remaining a1oat with
only one or two Of these compartments
dry.
II the burning hold is a very large
one and by flooding IL with water
there is danger of the vessel founder
Ing. the cargo i'm another hold is
thrown ovcrbosrl or "jcttiSoncd." as
II is called at sea. to Countcract the
weight of water admitted into the first
hold. As n last resource. the vessel,
II I'm dock or shallow water, is scut-
tied 10y opening the sea cocks. This has
been done more than once i'm Tilbury
docks
We seldom hear nowadays of fire
breaking ont In the passengers quar-
ters on large liners. The Introduction
of electric lighting on board ship has
~ doubt conduccd greatly TO this Inn
proved state of matters. When n fire
does break ont In the cabin. II is usu-
ally soon detected. for constant
watch Is kept 10y the officers and night
stewards. who make periodical tours
OF inspection during the nocturnal
81.