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.

If you’re interested in training for Army Firefighting then you have to have a cool, collected attitude to emergencies. Not that this is any kind of critique of Army Firefighting training mind you. Just some of the personality requirements of the job. You also have to be ok with putting yourself at risk for the safety of others as well as bhttp://www.airandfiresystems.com/wp-admin/post-new.phpeing able to make quick decisions and act on them even faster. Other requirements include normal color vision, no incidents of pyrophobia, acrophobia, or claustrophobia of any kind as well as having a valid driving license for those times when you have to get to a fire and fast.

Now that you have the right personality you need the right training. Training for Army Firefighting includes basic training for nine weeks, where one is taught the same things that a U.S. Army Enlisted person would. These include becoming knowledgeable of stuff like U.S. Army drills and U.S. Army procedures. Once you’re in the know about all the Army Enlisted person stuff you get to graduate as a private or even a private first class. This Basic Training is followed by a stint at military school where you will spend 13 to 18 weeks. Here you will learn about Army Firefighting through a mix of practical and classroom training.

Subjects in your training will include techniques to fight different types of fires, first aid and rescue procedures, rescue actions, as well as basic structural and shipboard fire fighting techniques. And as you learn you will have the chance to teach junior enlisted personnel the same way you were taught. And once you are really knowledgable in Army Firefighting, you will be put in charge of emergency response operations and hazardous material incident response.

As fires and explosions happen to be the Top two causes of damage to pleasure boats and to people on pleasure boats, having a marine fire extinguisher on your pleasure boat is an absolute must. And you should not wait for the US Coast Guard to make this mandatory. You should just install a marine fire extinguisher for safety’s sake. Though you’ll probably want to have a marine fire extinguisher lying around once you learn that gasoline misuse is the chief culprit behing most fires on boats.

The US Coast Guard has certain recommendations that keep boat safety in mind. These are based on the size of the vessel and the presence of a fixed extinguishing
system in machinery space. These are the US Coast Guard’s requirements for Marine fire extinguishers on boats.

A) In case of a boat of less than 26 feet without fixed extinguishing system in machinery space, 1 B1 extinguisher will do the job. In case there is a fixed extinguishing
system in machinery space then no extinguishers are required at all.

B) In case of a vessel that’s 26 feet to 40 feet in length, 2 B1 extinguishers or 1 B2 extinguisher are/is mandatory without the presence of fixed extinguishing
system in machinery space. However in case of a fixed extinguishing system in machinery space only 1 B1 marine fire extinguisher is required.

C) In case of a vessel of 40 feet to 56 feet, without fixed extinguishing
system in machinery space 3 B-I or 1 B-II and 1 B-I marine fire extinguishers are required. In case the vessel has a fixed system in machinery space then just 2 B-I or 1 B-II marine fire extinguisher is required.

So now that you have all the requirements for a marine fire extinguisher down pat, are you going to get one?

At present, there are only three types of marine fire extinguishers that have been Us Coast Guard approved and are available on the market. They are specific to marine use. These include Carbon Dioxide (CO2) marine fire extinguishers, Dry Chemical marine fire extinguishers, and Halon marine fire extinguishers. Interestingly, foam extinguishers are not US Coast Guard approved. That is unless they have been manufactured before 1965, have been Coast Guard-approved and are still in serviceable condition.

In case you’re planning to get carbon tetrachloride extinguishers and others of the TOXIC vaporizing-liquid type, such as
chlorobromomethane, please don’t. Neither are these types approved, not are they considered to come under the category of ‘required fire extinguishers’ on
pleasure boats.

When selecting marine fire extinguishers, learn all about them and see which characteristics of which type would suit you best. However, its also important to get some facts straight before depending entirely on your extinguisher to put out the fire. After all, your ability to put out the fire is dependant on certain factors such as:

Condition of the extinguisher. Is it in good working order? Make sure to maintain it regularly, check for leakage as often as possible as well as for tampering, corrosion, or damage. If you have used it, ensure you recharge or replace it.
Location, location: The marine fire extinguishers has to be in such a place that it can be handy in an emergency. Also ensure its far away from being in the center of a confabulation such as sources of fire like engine, stoves, etc.
The marine fire extinguisher is suited to the type of fire.
Used in time: Ensure that the marine fire extinguishers are used before the fire becomes uncontrollably large. And don’t forget that Portable marine fire extinguishers can only put out small fires, not large ones.