As PICTON CASTLE’s departure date for WV8 comes ever clearer into view and our voyage preparation has ramped up to full capacity, we have begun structured fire-fighting orientation and hands-on training for all crew.
Naturally, all staff crew have already undergone formal fire fighting training, as have many of the trainees, so why are we making this an all hands exercise? Is it not enough to bring along those who have little prior knowledge or exposure to the topic and let the experienced hands get on with other voyage preparation tasks?
PICTON CASTLE’s ship familiarisation process is a multi-layered, in-depth exercise as we make ready for an expedition few others even consider undertaking. Today’s two-and-a-half-hour fundamental introduction to fire prevention and fire fighting is but a precursor to setting up our comprehensive ocean passage Emergency Response Station Bill, a topic involving all, no exceptions.
This session was divided into two sections, theory and practice. With a heavy dose of “prevention”. Prevention is everything. The best fire is one that never happened.
Beginning with introducing why fire prevention onboard ship and situational awareness around fire hazards and a rapid response to any suspected fire is so emphatically important, we continued onward through the topic: what is fire, actually? Are all fires the same? How do fires start, and what are the most common reasons for shipboard fires? Are they responded to in the same way? What do we have at our disposal onboard ship to respond to a fire, and how can we protect ourselves? Not to overload the gang with information (more will come, in well-to-digest chunks), we proceeded outside to practically exercise the use of fire extinguishers typically found aboard PICTON CASTLE. Portable extinguishers are so numerously placed around the ship that there is no location of a fire extinguisher from which you would not be able to see another one. They are everywhere.
Anticipating favourable weather conditions for this exercise was part of the planning for the session, and we lit a small and controlled fire in light rain and light winds. Perfect.
One by one, all hands extinguished the fire: Raise the alarm, grab an extinguisher, ready it for use, test that it is operational before approaching the fire, then get in position to deploy, and put out the fire, sweeping the base. Finally, retreat properly, facing the (now extinguished) fire.
Next, we brought online our portable fire pumps, powerful, motor-driven trash pumps, backups to our regular fixed pumps in the engine room. These handy units can also be used as additional bilge pumps. One is set up for each purpose, and they, together with their gear, are kept readily accessible at main deck level. Set up, prime, start and charge a fire hose. All hands went through hose handling exercise, stream and spray, with an explanatory session to distinguish the several purposes for a fire hose, and when to use which one. A debrief, followed by freshwater rinsing, cleaning and stowing the equipment concluded the exercise, right in time for supper.
