The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1907-12-10
ERE E!GHT!NG AT SEA
Methods Of Extinguisking 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
lntrustsd to Him.
OF al disasters ,hat can bcrall a
ship none Is more dreaded by the
mariner than Il ire at sea Indeed, the
annals Of Lloyd's record few greater
ocean tragedies aud, be ii said, no
more conspicuous instances OF gal
luntry ana heroic effort than those con-
nected with ships aiire.
No wonder, then. in view OF me
dreadful possibilities OF an outbreak
Of fire on board, that thorough knowl-
edge Of the proper steps 10 be taken
IN extinguishIng the names ut 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 hytlrants, several on each deck,
and in the case of Large liners hose
Es kept in handy places, ready TO be
attached to the hydrants at mo-
ment's notice. Moreover. every large
passenger boat carries a plumber OF
portable s1tinguishers which can be
strapped on a mans back. The spray
from these s., OF course. thin, but very
elective In subduing small outbreaks
where the fire has not secured too firm
a 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
scnSers being kept i'll ignorance as
long as possible. In fact, more than
one fire at sea has been extinguished
without amy 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 passen-
gers have to he informed, but the news
is always broken as lightly as possible,
and some special entertainment-a con-
cert Il dance, theatricals. and so on-is
got up to alIay any natural feeling of
nervous anxiety. OF course If the fire
shows signs of becoming unmanage-
able the boats are got ready and swung
ont in case it 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 10 open the matches.
he fire. which may have been smol.
dcring for days, will naturally burst
into Il blaze as soon as the air is adj
mittcd
The proper course is TO exclude the
air in every possible way; consequently
even the veutllators are stopped IN.
If the holds are fitted with steam
pipes. the steam is ut once turned on:
otherwise holes arc cut in the deck.
Just large enough 10 admit the nozzles
ly pumped into the hold.
IN one form. Of distinguishing APP
paratus, instead of steam or water,
sulphurous fumes are injected into
the hold. the fumes being generated
IN Il machine specially fitted for that
purpose. This injection method is
highly effective and rarely fails If the
i,il'eS are property pla sed ia each hold.
The steam or fumes are turned on
from the upper deck.
Ii n fro freaks ont In the hold and
assumes such dimensions that steam
injection is powcrless to check It. the
vessel is. when possible got into shall
low water and. il necessary, bcachcd.
III any ease the sea cocks of the par
ticular hold are opened and the hold
allowed to Till with water This can
usually be done with very little fear
OF the vessel laundering. as modern
hltIt ships are divided into many com
partmcnts separated by strong water
tight hulkleads OF steel or iron Such
is The buuyaucy OF a vessel so CON
structc;l that instances have been
known NJ craft remaining afIoat with
only one Or two of these compartments
dry.
If the burning hold is very large
"ne and hy flooding 1t With water
there 10 danger Of the vessel founder.
ing the cargo in another hold is
rhrowo overheard or '.jettiSoned. 'aH
IT Is called III sea-. to couuteract the
weight OF water admitted into the tirs,
hold. As a last resource. the vessel
If III dock or shallow water, Is scut-
tied hr upeuing III" sea cocks. This has
been done more than once In Tilbmy
docks.
We seldom hear nowadays Of fr"
breaking ont in the passenger quar-