Amador ledger., 1907-09-06
FIRE FIGHTING At SEA
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
Entrusted to Him.
Of all disasters that can befal a
ship none is more dreaded by the
mariner than a fire at sea. Indeed, the
annals of Lloyd's record few greater
ocean tragedies and, be it said, no
more conspicuous instances Of gal
mntry and heroic effort than those con-
nected with ships afire
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 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 a mo-
ments 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
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 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 be informed, but the news
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
9 Of
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-
dering for days, will naturally burst
into blaze as soon as the air Is ad-
mitted.
The proper course ls 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 OF water,
sulphurous fumes are injected into
the hold, the fumes being generated
In 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 on
from the upper deck.
If q 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, beached.
In any case the sea cocks Of the par
ticular 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
partments separated by strong water
tight bulkheads Of steel or iron. Such
Is the buoyancy of q vessel so con-
structed that instances have been
known of craft remaining afioat 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
it is called at sea, to counterfeit the
weight of water admitted into the first
hold. AS last resource, the vessel,
if in dock or shallow water, is scut-
Ted by opening the sea cocks. This has
been done more than once in 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
no doubt conduced greatly to this i'm
proved state of matters When a fire
does break out in the cabin, it is usu-
ally soon detected, for a constant
watch is kept by the officers and night
stewards, who make periodical tours
If inspection during the nocturnal
hours.-Pearson's Weekly.
Look on the poor with gentle eyes,