The Alarm Sounds! The Call Comes In For A Fire onboard a vessel in your district. Are you ready? In most cases, the answer would be no. Most fire departments have not had the training to safely conduct major fire operations at a vessel fire. In a recent case, the fire department chief officer responded to the scene of a major vessel fire and asked, "What do I do now?" This is not the time to be asking this question. A majority of firefighters not trained in shipboard firefighting think of a vessel fire in the same way as a structure fire. However, vessels are basically miniature cities floating on the water. They are a fuel storage farm, a power plant with high voltage, a multistory hotel, a restaurant, and a warehouse with all kinds of commodities―all in one. And, we should mention also that there is an obstacle course throughout the vessel. Shipboard firefighting is more than putting the "wet stuff on the red stuff." Although it is true that some tactics used in structural fire-fighting can be applied in many cases of shipboard firefighting, there are tactics specific to shipboard scenarios that must be learned. National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1405, Guide for Land Based Fire Fighters Who Respond to Marine Vessel Fires, provides guidance in training firefighters for shipboard fires.
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