The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-07-07
ERE FIGHTING AT SEA
Methods of Extinguishing Flames
 on Board Ships.
RIGID DISCIPLINE THE RULE.

HIGID 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 befan a 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 aflre.
 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 efrective in, subduing small outbreaks where the fire has not secured too firm hold
 Fire drfl1 forms weekly feature in the routine on every ocean liner. Ev- cry member of the crew literally, from captain to cabin boy, has bis 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 Ire 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 Ire at sea has been extinSuished 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 q 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-a 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- j 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 light tanls
 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, win naturally burst Into blaze as soon as the air is ad- mfttsd
 The proper course Is to exclude the air in every possible way; consequently even tne ventilators are stopped up. If tho holds ara fitted with steam pipes, the steam Is at once turned on; oeherwise holes are cut in the deck, just larss eneugh to admit the nozzlcs of the nre hose, and water is vigorous ly pumped into the hold
 In ono form ef extinguishing ap- pafatua, in1tead of steam or 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 a Ire breaA1 out fn the hold and assumes such dimensions that steam injection is powerless to check 1t, the vassed is, when possible. got into shal- loW water and, if necessary, beached.
 In any case the sea cocks of the par ti4u1ar hold are opened and the hold allowed to fill with water. This can usually be done with very little fear of the vessel foundering. as modern built ships are divided Into many com ipartments separated by strong water tight bulkheads of steel or iron. Such is the buoyancy of a vessel so con- stfucted that instances have been known of craft remainfng afioat with only one or two of these compartments dry,
 If the burning hold is a 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 1t Is called at sea, to counteract the weight of water admitted into the first hold As a last resource, the vessel if tn dock or shallow water, is scut- tl{d by opening the sea cocks. This has b4en done more than once in Tlbury d@cks.
 He seldom hear nowadays of fire bfeaking out in the passengers quar- tefs on large liners. The introduction of electric lighting on board ship has nd doubt conduced greatly to this inn pnpved state of matters. When a fire ddes break out in the cabin, it is usu. aIll soou- detactad for constant