Fire prevention & protection

Fire outbreaks on board vessels are aggressive, quick moving and deadly. Are you, your crew and your vessel equipped to deal with fire?

By Craig Elliot and Dr Brad Roberts

Since July 2018, in Australia there have been over 35 reported firerelated incidents on commercial vessels alone. Fortunately none have resulted in a catastrophic loss of life, but the risk is ever present.

Common causes of vessel fire

Poor maintenance, poor housekeeping, electrical faults, fuel leaks and ineffective maintenance of fire protection equipment are contributors to serious vessel fires.

A recent AMSA inspection campaign to look at fire prevention on passenger vessels revealed 829 instances of poor fire system maintenance across 326 vessels. The most common issues inspectors found were:

 emergency fire pump could not supply adequate water pressure to fight a fire

 portable extinguishers not maintained in accordance with Australian Standard (1851–2012)

 lack of, or poorly maintained fire insulation, protection or suppression systems

 emergency shutoffs in engine rooms not working

 fire alarm strobe light in engine rooms not working

 assessment of fire risk not updated as part of the safety management system

 fire detectors not working

 poor or inadequate signage for fire flaps or emergency shut-off valves.

AMSA’s broader accident, incident and inspection data show that these deficiencies are actually common across all vessel types, not just passenger operations. Of the reported fire incidents in Australia since July 2018, over 45 per cent were on non-passenger vessels, including fishing vessels.

Addressing the risk of fire in your safety management system

Consider the fire risks associated with your vessel and the type of operation you run, and then address how you plan to mitigate these risks in your safety management system. Your safety management system must include:

 planned maintenance of your firefighting, fire-containment and fire prevention equipment

 fire emergency procedures

 training and induction for crew members on how to use the firefighting equipment

 standard operating procedures that address the risk of fire

 first aid training and supplies for burns and smoke inhalation.

Passive fire protection

Passive structural fire protection can actually contain or slow the spread of fire at its point of origin, giving those on board more time to fight the fire or—in a worst case scenario—abandon the vessel before lives are lost.

Passive structural fire protection is the installation of fire-resistant material on the vessel structure, such as fire resistant bulkheads, deck heads, decks and doors to help stop the transfer of heat, smoke and flame to other compartments in a vessel—especially high-risk zones like engine rooms, galleys and accommodation areas. It is commonly installed in new or existing vessels made of steel, aluminium and fibre-reinforced plastic.

The type of material and the thickness needed for passive structural fire protection depends on the vessel construction material and the risk of the zone that requires protecting. Your accredited marine surveyor can advise you on what materials and specifications you need on your vessel.

Preserving passive structural fire protection

Vessel owners, skippers and surveyors need to pay special attention to fire-rated divisions to make sure they are maintained to the original approved specification.

It’s common to see a fire-rated division—such as the bulkhead in an engine room—penetrated during a modification, extended docking or a periodic survey. Electricians, plumbers and communications engineers, for example, can leave unintended holes in fire-rated divisions as they perform maintenance and upgrades, reducing its effectiveness.

If there’s a fire, heat will be able to escape where the structural fire protection has been penetrated or compromised, allowing the fire to spread to the adjoining compartment.

More information:

Guidance notice – inspection of portable fire extinguishers (stored pressure type) (AMSA707): amsa.gov.au/guidance-notices

National Standard for Commercial Vessels, Section C4 – Fire safety: amsa.gov.au/nscv