Fire on board....

[G15876]

Good friends of ours, were hit by tragedy this week-end, while underway motoring on their C30, something went wrong in the engine compartment, (not sure what it is yet) and their vessel went up in flames and was totalled. I'm still not over the initial shock of the news and can barely imagine what feelings I would go through in such case.Everyone on board, got off unarmed, (thank God!), but his first obversion was that despite being ready and prepared for such situation, he told me that you have only but a few minutes if not seconds to react and get of the boat, forget reaching for an extinguisher etc. as the smoke is so thick that getting to it is impossible and even if you had one handy, you could not see where the source of the fire was the smoke was so thick.Although, I thought we were also ready for such situation, I suddenly find myself rethinking my entire evacuation plan on board.I'm curious to see what provisions other sailors have made on the C30's for such case. I'm also keen on hearing on anyone having made provisions to be able to open the forward hatch from outside to assist anyone caught in the v-berth.Safely yours,GC30 1987 TRBS, #4708

 

[BarryL]

Engine compartment fire

Hello,When I had a pre-purchase survey done on my boat (it wasn't mine yet), the surveyor recommended that there be a method of discharging a fire bottle into the engine compartment without opening a hatch or anything. This way you can try to put out the fire without allowing more oxygen into the area. He also said that ABYC recommended 3 fire extinguishers instead of the 1 or 2 required by law.Barry

 

[Garry @ S/V TASHTEGO]

Fire Port

One useful addition is a fire port. This is a small opening in the engine compartment bulkhead with both a window and an opening port which allows the user to put the nozzle of the fire extinguisher through the port and discharge it without opening up the engine compartment. See the related link below. There are probably other places to get one. But even better is an automatic engine room extinguisher. For small to moderate engine compartments, say up to 100 cu. ft., these cost under $300 with all the trimmings (like an automatic engine shut down and an extra manual discharge cable). Cheap by comparison with losing your boat. See what BoatUS says about them at the bottom of the article at the web site below.http://www.boatus.com/seaworthy/swybf.asp

 

[Peter18012]

Extinguisher outside

One thing i did on my 27 was to mount a portable extinguisher underneath the lid of the cockpit locker. That way, you have access to an extinguisher outside the cabin. Also, the frequent opening and closing of the hatch lid keeps the dry chemical shaken up, so it doesn't cake like it does when it's mounted in a place where it doesn't move.I also mounted an extinguisher in the hanging locker, up forward of the main cabin, and accessible from the v-berth. I also keep a fire blanket mounted in The galley in one of those plastic "V" holders for kitchen towels to drop on the stove if there's a flareup. It's mounted next to the halon extinguisher in the galley.Fire is a frightening thing. You can't ever foresee all the possibilities, but some thought about "how would I handle it if XXXXX happens" gives you some good ideas.

 

[Gaspare]

I keep 3 extinguishers handy

I keep 3 extinguishers on board, one outside in the big sail locker, one in the galley and one up in the V berth. Also I recommed that when your old extinguisher expirers, try shooting it off in a garbage pale. A lot of people have never used a fire extinguisher. It's a good idea to know what to expect when your in that kind of situation a head of time.

 

[Calif. Ted]

Everyone here seems right on,

1. Minimum 3 extinguishers, I keep biggest in cockpit figuring that's where I usually am when engine running. Best extinguishers have metal heads so they can be serviced (annually) gauges are cheap & unreliable & biggest failure is clogging.2. Best is auto system mentioned, ideal would be to have additional manual method to activate.3.Extinguishers are considered suitable for use by UNTRAINED USERS for incipient fires and as an aid to escape. Ratings are determined by fire extinguishing capabilities in the hands of trained user.4. P - Pull Pin A - Aim S - Squeeze Trigger S - Sweep5. Engine fires produce large amounts of thick, Acrid, Deadly smoke. Almost always fuel fed, worse in fuel injected engines because of higher line pressures. You CANNOT see or breathe in close proximity. All rubber, plastic etc. in vicinity are first to burn. The extinguishing agent will also produce a cloud of powder that because it is so dry will make breathing difficult.Just retired after 30 years as Firefighter.

 

[sjs21474]

Peter S., where

where did you get your fire blanket? I have been looking for one without success.

 

[Garry @ S/V TASHTEGO]

Fire Blanket

I got my fire blanket from Conney Safety Products. See the link below. It is mounted on the bulkhead next to the companionway on the side opposite the galley. It is reachable from the cabin or the cockpit by reaching into the companionway. It mounts in a metal tube (included) and is just stuffed in with a pair of pull tabs hanging out the bottom. About $35. Cheap insurance and If you don't have to use the powder extinguishers on a galley fire you don't have the mess to clean up afterwards.

 

[sjs21474]

Thanks

very much Garry.

 

[Dave]

Remote extinguisher release

I had a boat burn out from under me on Bristol Bay Alaska. We escaped in a dinghy. Fire on board is incredibly scary. Be as prepared as possible and more. I recently had an insurance survey done on my Cat-38 and the only suggestion that was made was to add a manual release to the HALON fire bottle in the engine compartment. If a fire occurs below, I can discharge the system from the cockpit and hopefully not have to go down and expose self or crew to more danger than necessary. Additional fire extinguishers are mounted the stern lazarette, port lazarette, in the galley and on the forward bulkhead. All are easily accessable or in plain sight. Fair Winds,Dave : C38 #148 Pretty Lady