The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1907-08-31
FIRE FIGHTING At SEA
Methods of Extinguishing Flames
on Board Ships.
RIGID DISCIPLINE THE RULE.

| Member: of the Crew Has His Station
end Carries Out the Particular Duty
Entrusted to Him.
OF all disasters that can befall q
chip 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 aflre.
No wonder, then, in view Of the
dreadful possibilities OF an outbreak
of fire on board. that q thorough knowl-
edge Of the proper steps to be taken
i'll extinguisl1iAg the flames at the out
set or at least holding them in check
is expected of every oaicer from the
captain downward.
Most vessels are nowadays fitted
with hydraRts, 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 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
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
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 giveithe 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 be informed, but the news
is always broken as lightly as possible,
and some special entertainments con-
cert, a dance, 7theatricals, and so on-is
got up to aiiay 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.
l.
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 Yentilators are stopped up. |
II 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
~ pumped into the hold.
In one form of eXtinguishing ap-
paratus, instead of steam or water.
fumes are injected into |
the hold, the fumes being generated |
in machine specially fitted for that |
= I
highly effective and rarely fails if the
pipes are properly placed in each hold.
The steam or fumes are turned on
from the upper deck
If a fire breaks out in the hold and
assumes such dimensions that steam
Injection is powerless to check it, the
vessel is, when possible, got into shall
low water and, if necessary, be0ched.
In any case the sea cocks Of the par
dcular hold are opened and the hold
allowed to fill with water. This can
usually be done with very little fear
Of the vessel laundering, as modern
built ships are divided into many COM
Dartments separated by strong water
tight bulkheads of steel or iron. Such
IS the buoyancy of a vessel so con-
'tructed that instances have been
known of craft remaining afioat with
Jnly orc or two of these compartments
Try.
II the burning bod is a very large
one and by flooding It with water
there is danger OF the vessel founder
nG, the cargo II another hold is
thrown overheard or ''jettisoned," as
{ is called at sea, to counterfeit the
weight of wafer admitted into the first
hold. As 4 last resource the vessel,