How to guard against fire on board a boat

Dealing with a fire on board is one of the most frightening things to contemplate. Jon Medez gives his practical advice to guard against fire on board a boat

The vast majority of boats are made of GRP, a highly flammable material, so prevention is far better than cure. With that in mind, it’s worth having a walk through your boat, considering what your plan of action would be if you do have a fire and how you would escape if you can’t put it out.

If not contained, a fire will spread quickly so speed of action is vital. Fire and carbon monoxide alarms in every cabin and enclosed space will give you the best chance of spotting it early, followed by immediate shouts of fire to alert your crew. Your immediate priorities should be to get everybody to your muster point, put out a Mayday call and grab any available extinguishers to try and fight it.

The most likely sources of fire are engines, fuel and electrical systems, so ensure you know where and how to trigger the engine room extinguishers, the fuel cut-offs and the battery isolator switches. Some electrical bow and stern thrusters also have a dedicated extinguisher, so add it to your annual check sheet. Rechargeable lithium ion batteries in water toys, bikes, drones, phones and computers are another potential fire hazard if overcharged or exposed to water, so make sure you know what’s on board and don’t leave them charging unattended.

Boats built within the last 30 years will have at least one manual fire extinguisher fitted and if it has an enclosed engine space, a fire suppression system too. Most extinguishers have a maximum life span of ten years so portable ones will need to be replaced and larger ones serviced, preferably annually.

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I’d also add a portable extinguisher to each cabin and a fire blanket for the galley.

If you need to use an extinguisher, aim it at the base of the fire and use it in short bursts. Always try to have an exit behind you so you can escape if it gets out of control.

Planning your exit is vital. On a small boat it’s pretty obvious but larger craft with multiple decks and cabins present a much bigger problem. Do you have escape hatches fitted? Do you know where they are? And can you actually fit through them? Older or larger guests may not be physically capable of using them.

Amazingly, despite being surrounded by water, most craft I go on either don’t have any buckets or have buckets but no lines attached, so you can’t easily haul up water to put out a fire. Lastly, if you have to abandon ship make sure you can access and launch the tenders/liferafts quickly. Consider launching them early as a precaution and keep them tethered alongside on the windward side (on the downwind side they risk being damaged by the flames or filled with smoke) until you know whether they are needed. You can always recover them if not.

Get to know your extinguishers

Know where your extinguishers are kept and how to use them – these ones had quite different pull-pins. Buckets for collecting sea water are also a useful extra resource but they need a lanyard to reach the water easily.

Switch off the fuel supply

In the event of a fire the fuel supply will need to be switched off, otherwise you are literally adding fuel to the fire. Then manually pull the engine room fire control.

Engine room extinguisher

Many engine rooms have automatic extinguishers like this one, which also cut the engines. The little switch allows you to restart the engines, once you have put out the fire.

Check the pressure gauge

The engine room extinguisher is auto and manual but the pressure gauge is placed where it’s hard to see, so I use my phone to check what it reads – in this case, it’s nicely in the green.

Test exit routes

I was pleasantly surprised to find that I fit through this foredeck escape hatch, especially as there is no extinguisher in this cabin to aid my escape back through the boat.

Plan your escape

If the fire envelops the boat and you can’t fight or extinguish it, how are you going to exit the craft? This boat has a liferaft and an easily launched tender.

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Source: https://www.mby.com/training/how-to-guard-against-fire-on-board-a-boat-133399