The Havre herald. [volume] (Havre, Mont.) 1904-1908, 1907-08-30
FIRE FIGHTING At SEA
Methods Of Extinguishing Flames
on Board Ships.

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
lntrusted to Him.
OF all disasters that can befall
ship none is more dreaded by the
mariner than fire at sea. Indeed, the
annals Of Lloyd's 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
Of fire OH board, that thorough knoWl
edge Of the proper steps to be taken
in 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 mo-
ment's notice. Moreover, every large
passenger boat carries number Of
portable extinguishers 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
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 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-
r. ~ y, S,>po -,
is always broken as lightly as possible.
and some special entertainment con-
cert, 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 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 to open the matches.
The fire, which may have been smol-
derng for days, will naturally burst
into a blaze as soon as the air is adj
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,
just large enough to admit the nozzles
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 into
the hold, the fumes being generated
in a 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 or
from the upper deck.
II fire breaks out in the hold anG
assumes such dimensions that steam
injection is powerless to check it, the
vessel is, when possible. got into shall
low water and, if necessary, beached
In any case the sea cocks Of the par
ticular hold are opened and the hole
allowed to fill with water. This car
usually be done with very little feal
of the vessel laundering, as modern
built ships are divided into many com
partments separated by strong water
tight bulkheads Of steel or iron. Sucl
is the buoyancy of a vessel so con
structed that instances have beer
known Of craft remaining afloat witt
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 ii
thrown overheard or "jettisoned," al
it is called at sea, to counterfeit the