The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1907-08-07
AUGUST 7. 1907.
FIRE FIGHTING At SEA
Methods Of Extinguishing Flames
on Board Ships.
RIGID DISCIPLINE THE RULE.

ntOlD DiOClT LIVE IIlE NULL.
When the Alarm Is Sounded Every
Member of the Crew Has His Station
and Carries Out the Particular Duty
lntrusted to Him.
Of all disasters that can hefal II
ship none is more dreaded by tho
mariner than Il fire at sea. Indeed. the
annals Of I1oyd's record few grcater
oeean tragedies and, be ii said, no
more conspicuous instances Of gal
lantry and heroic effort than those con
neeted With ships aflre.
No wonder, then, in view Of the
dreadful possibilities of an outbreak
of fire on board, that a thorough knowl.
edge Of the proper steps to be taken
In distinguishing the flames at the out
set or at least holding them in check
il expected of every officer frem the
captain downward.
Most vessels are nowadays fitted
with hydrantS several on each deck,
and In the case of large liners hose
Is kept III handy places. ready To be
attached To the MIGRANTS Mt mo-
ments notice Moreover. every large
passenger boat carries II number of
portable cxtineaishcrs which can be
strapped on Il 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
hold
Fire drill forms II 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. al which
when The signal Is given, he takes his
position and carries ont the particular
duty intrHstcd 10 him.
When an actual outbreak occnrs the
fire alarm is If possible avoided, SO rs
to prevent panic among the passengers.
Word is passed quietly around. the pas
sengcrs being kept in Ignorance rs
long rs possible In fact more than
one fire at sea has been eNtingushed
without any suspicion on the part OF
the passengers that the outbreak was
other than nm 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
Is always broken rs lightly MS possible
aud some special entertainment a con
cert, dance. theatricals. and 50 ON Is
got up 10 allay any natural feeling OF
nervous anxiety. or course If the fire
shows signs of becoming unmanagc-
able the boats are got ready and swung
out in ease 1t appears necessary TO
abandon the ship
Every boat on large liners is kept
fully provsioned. food sufficient for
several days being contained in air and
water tight tanks
The Worst fires ut sea are those
which cannot easily he got ut These
usually occur amid .he 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-
derinE for days, will naturally burst
into Il hlazc us soon ms the air IL al
mittcd
The proper course Is To exclude the
mir IN every possible way. consequently
even the vcntlators are stopped up
If the holds are fitted with steam
pipes, the steam Is Mt 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 cXtinguishng ap
paratus. instead OF steam or water
sulphuroaS fumes nrc injected int
the hold. the fumes being generated
In II machine specially fitted for that
purpose This injection method is
highly effective and rarely fails II the
pipes are properly placed In each hold
The steam or fumes are turned or
from the upper deck
II n fire breaks out In the hold and
assumes such dimensions that steam
Injection is powerlcss 10 check II, the
vessel is. when possible. got into shall
low water and. If necessary, hcached
In any ease the sea cocks of the par
tleular hold are opened and the hole
allowed 10 fill With water, This ear
usually be done with very little feai
OF the vessel laundering, as modern
built ships are divided into many com
partmcnts separated hy strong water
tight bulkhcads of steel or iron such
is the buoyancy OF n vessel SO con
structcd that instances have beer
known Of craft remaining atloat with
only one or two of these compartments
dry
If the burning hold Is very large
one and by flooding IT 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 thu
weight of water admitted into the frs
hold. As last resource the vessel
II In dock or shallow water, is scut
tied by opening the sea cocks. This has
been done more than once In Tilbur,
docks
We seldom hear nowadays of fir,
breaking ont in the passengers quar-
tiers on large liners. The introduction
OF electric lighting on board ship has
no doubt conduced greatly 10 this I'm
proved state of matters. When fir,
does break ont 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 Pearsons Weekly.
Look on the poor with gentle eyes
for in such habits often angels deshi
aims Masslngcr.