Fort Pierce news. (Fort Pierce, Fla.) 190?-1920, 1908-01-10
FIRE FIGHTING AT SEA
Methods Of Extinguishing Flames
on Board Ships.
RIGID DISCIPLINE THE RULE.

epe SATIlSb Odt ulo FaTNlSuiaT IVY
Entrusted TO Him.
OF all disasters that can befan a
ship none Is more dreaded by the
mariner than a IRE at sea. Indeed, the
annals OF Lloyd's record TOW greater
ocean tragedies and, be II 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
dreadful possibilities Of an outbreak
Of fire OIL board, that thorough Rrowl-
edge Of the proper steps to be taken
In extinguishlng the danes 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 Ia handy places, ready to De
attached t. the MIGRANTS at mo
ments 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 6rm
a hold
Fire drill forms a weekly feature II
the routine on every ocean liner. Ey-
cry member Of the crew literally, from
captain to cabin boy has his fire
station" allotted to him, ut which
when the signal Is given, be takes his
position and carries out the particular
duty lntrusted to him.
When an actual outbreak occurs the
hre 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 IA fact more than
one Gre at sea has been extlngUished
viii out 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
81 the event Of the real thing occurring,
I'M many cases, OF course, the passen-
geF nave to be informed, but the news
and some special entertalnm ent a con-
cert, a dance, theatiicals, and so on--is
got up to allay any natural feeling OF
nervous anxiety. OF course Il the FIRE
shows signs OF becoming unmanage-
able the boats are got ready aud swung
out in case 1t appears necessary to
abandon the ship.
Every boat on large liners IS kept
fully proyisioned, food sufficient for
several days being contained In air and
water tight tanks.
The worst fires at sea arc those
which cannot easily he got al. These
usually occur amid the cargo In Che
lower holds and are often spontaueou GUS
In their origin In such cases II is
highly dangerous to open the matches.
The fire. which may have been smol-
dering for days, will naturally hurst
into blaze as soon as the air is ad.
mitted
che proper course Is to exclude the
air In every possible way; consequently
even the ventilators are stopped up.
n 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 uoz2les
Of the Are hose, and water Is vigorous
~ pumped into the hold.
In Que form OF extinguishing ap
paratus, instead OF steam or water.
sulphurous fumes are injected into
the hold, the fumes being generated
In q machine specially fitted for that
purpose This Injection method ls
highly effective and rarely fails II the
pipes are properly placed in each hold |
The steam or fumes are turned on
from the upper deck.
II q fire freaks ont IN the hold and
assumes such dimensions that steam
injection is powerless to check It, the |
vesses Is, when possible, got into shat |
low water and, II necessary, beached. |
- any case tile sea cocks Of the par.
ticplar hold are opened aud the hold !
allowed 20 hn With water. Thia can
usually be done with very little fenr
Of the vessel founderlng as modern
built ships are divided into many com,
nartnents separated BY strong watog
tight bulikheads Of steel Or iron. Such
Is the buoJancy Of vessel 50, con
structed that Instances have been
known Of a craft remaining aiIoat With
only one or two OF these compartments