According to research,
fire outbreaks are among the most frequent causes of accidents at sea, in parallel with grounding, collision, and grazing contact. Every seventh fire outbreak culminated in the loss of life, and it was established that the most frequent outcome from a fire was damage to the vessel and inability to proceed with the journey.
Fires don’t cause themselves. At sea, you can’t really blame the environment for causing fire. So who is to blame? You’re probably guessing already – people. Not by malice, usually, but by error. Reports suggest that “human error is a significant part of 70% to 80% of all accidents”. That’s quite a few accidents that could have been prevented through training and preparation.
Know Your Fire Classes
To fight the fire, you need to know your types of fires, as each has its own prevention strategies as well as firefighting tactics. The types of fires on ships are classified by the type of fuel involved.
Class A (General fire) – Common materials such as wood, paper and cloths are the main fuel for the flames.
Class B (Oil fire) – The fire is fueled by flammable liquids like gasoline, oil and grease.
Class C (Electrical fire) – Electrical cables, electrical motors and switchboards can be the source of the ignition, but can also fuel and spread the fire.
Class D (Chemical fire) – Many of the chemicals often kelp onboard are flammable or combusting. Cleaning supplies, active metals and other chemicals on your ship are actually fuel in disguise. best portable pump