Though the presence of an abundance of water can make sailors feel quite fire protected this is a false sense of security. Being in water does not prevent your boat from burning down to the water line if not sinking. What will prevent the above is taking some smart steps to avoid marine fires. They are:
1. Make sure your fuel system is in tip-top condition. You can do so by checking every element of the fuel system from tanks to lines to connections to the fuel pump, and finally the carburettor. In case any of these parts happens to spring a leak there’ no need to panic. Just stop the flow, wipe up the spill, throw away the wipe in a place where its not going to do any damage and lastly air the area out to ensure no remnants of gas remain.
2. When putting fuel into your boat, make sure you’ve switched off any electrical and internal fuel systems such as heaters, stoves and refrigerators. You’d be surprised to learn the death statistics of pilot lights and galley stoves in combination with the fuel dock.
3. Eliminate all potential for a marine fire. Ventilate your boat to ensure that all traces of gas have been removed completely. Do this before you get out of the fuel dock. Use a blower for a few minutes before gunning the engine post refueling.
4. Learn to use your fire extinguisher and ensure that everyone on your boat does too.
5. Devise a fire plan and make sure all hands on board know what to do during a marine fire whether its fighting the fire or using the radio to send out recognized distress signals.
6. Ensure the boat is equipped with enough life jackets for everyone and that they are easily accessible as well as out of the way of potential fire hazards.
Good Luck and hope you don’t ever have to encounter marine fire.
The Blue Grass Army Depot Fire Department recently won Department of the Army’s Small Fire Department of the Year Award. The Department of the Army’s 2009 Fire and Emergency Services awards are given to honour special achievements of individuals, teams and fire departments in the Army. They were given this due to the proactive nature of their numerous training efforts and preventative measures as well as for initiatives such as the equipping of vehicles with advanced firefighting agent that served to improve each vehicles’ flame heat reduction effectiveness by 600 %) and procurement of a state of the art battery operated gunnery that would go a long way in keeping firefighters safe from the back-related injuries they tend to be prone to.
The Blue Grass Army Fire Department was chosen by a Department of the Army selection committee after it performed a review of 10 nomination packages from U.S. Army Installation Management Command, U.S. Army Medical Command, military firefighters and Army Materiel Command. And to the credit of this Army Depot Fire Department, this is the first time that they submitted a nomination package.
But life goes on as it always was at the station. The firefighters still continue with their daily business and there is no sense of being swollen headed after the honour they have received. Chief Brewer commenting on the effect, or lack of it, that the award has had says, “Truthfully I don’t think some of my own firefighters realize just how big of a deal this is. To be named the best small fire department in the entire Army is truly a feat. Now we are just keeping our fingers crossed for the next phase of this award, competing at the DoD level.”
Here’s to wishing this Army Depot Fire Department all the luck in the world to win an honour at the Department of Defense Level.
