Instalatii de

stingere a
incendiilor
Fire on board
A fire on a ship is one of the most dangerous incidents
which can happen on board.
If the fire is detected in good time, the crew can prevent
larger damages by taking immediate measures such as
fighting the fire by use of a fire hose under breathing
protection.
If the fire has already spread, professional aid is
absolutely needed, which can be rendered via helicopter
or by ship.
 Fighting a fire at sea is significantly different to fighting a fire
on land. First of all, the first action teams have to get to the
source of the fire, which means, as a rule, from the top
downwards to the interior of the ship in the opposite
direction of the natural spreading of heat and smoke. This is
a serious obstacle which slows the fire-fighting operation
down.
 What makes the fire-fighting operations even more difficult,
are the narrow stairs, sticking places, unclear and labyrinth-
like premises, numerous hatches and ladders as well as
ship movements due to the sea and the thermal-conduction
properties of the ship's steel.
 There are two ways of fighting fire on board a ship - by
using portable marine fire fighting equipments or by
using different types of fixed fire fighting installations.
The type of system used for fighting fire depends on the
intensity and type of fire. Moreover, not all types of fixed
fire installation systems can be used for any type of ship.
A specific type of fixed fire fighting installation can be
used only for a certain type of ship.
 A ship's main emergency fire system consists of a
specific number of fire hydrants located at strategic
positions across the ship. A series of dedicated pumps are
provided to supply to these fire hydrants. The number and
capacity of pumps required for a particular type of ship is
decided by an international governing authority.
 All these pumps are supplied power from the main power
system. Apart from that, an emergency fire pump is also
provided, which is located remote from the machinery
space. The emergency fire pump has its own independent
means of power source, which can be used to take over
in case of main power failure.
 Moreover, all the hydrant outlets are provided with an
isolating valve so as to isolate those valves which are not
in use. The fire hydrants are also provided with standard
size flanges in order to attach hoses which have nozzles
attached to them. All the hoses are provided with snap in
connectors for easy and quick engaging and disengaging
operation. The nozzles attached to the hoses are
generally of two types - jet and spray, depending on the
type of discharge required for extinguishing the fire. Both
the nozzles can be adjusted according to the type of spray
and flow required, which could be played over the fire to
cool it without spreading.
 The pumps are connected with the main sea water
connection, having appropriate head to prevent any type
of suction problem. The valves supplying water to these
pumps are always kept open to provide a constant supply
of sea water to fight fire at any point of time. Though sea
water is the best mode of fighting fire, the main emergency
fire fighting system can only be used on fires of Type A.
However, in case of class B fires, if all modes for
extinguishing fire fails, sea water from main emergency
system can be used.
 Engine Room Fire Fighting Equipment

The equipment should be of the more modern type of water

nozzles which actually supply a fine mist, rather than a flow
of water. These systems cover of different areas of the
engine room and control room, but not the switchboard or
the electrical generating component on the power
generators. The sprinkler system can be operated
automatically by sensors or manually by the engineer. This
starts the water booster pump and opens up the
compressed air supply which can be from dedicated high
pressure air bottles or the engine room air supply.
 As we all know water is not normally used on oil
fires but, because fine mist is injected into the area
it not only starves the fire of oxygen, but also
dissipates the smoke.
 Engine room Fire Extinguishers. There are four main types
of fire extinguishers all coloured red nowadays, with a
different coloured band around the top of the body,
denoting which type of extinguisher it is. They are operated
by removing the protective pin from the trigger and smartly
pulling the trigger. Fire extinguishers are usually stored in a
container together in a group of four; one of each type the
containers being positioned at high fire risk locations.
 The four types are,
Dry Powder Fire Extinguisher it has a black band around the body
and is used for extinguishing electrical and liquid fires.
Foam Fire Extinguisher this has a yellow band around the body and
is used for extinguishing oil fires.
Water Fire Extinguisher this has a red band contained between two
thin white bands around the body. It is used to extinguish paper, wood
and cloth.
CO2 Fire Extinguisher this has a black band around the body and is
used to extinguish electrical and liquid fires.
 Remember, only the Dry Powder and CO2 extinguishers can
should be used on electrical fires.
Fire Hydrants and Hoses. These are positioned throughout the
engine room; a fire axe is sometimes alongside the fire hoses.
The hydrant valves should be opened; hoses run out and
discharged to the bilges at regular intervals to ensure operation.
 Aqueous Film Forming Foam. Known as AFFF and
(pronounced A triple F) was developed in the sixties and is a
great innovation to firefighting not only in ships engine rooms,
but on oil and gas platforms worldwide. AFFF is supplied in its
own containers and added to an AFFF storage tank and is
operated by pressurised seawater. The seawater mixes with
the specialist liquid and exits the 11/2" rubber hose through a
brass nozzle as a pressurised film of thick, viscous foam. This
is directed to the base of the fire, quickly smothering the
flames and dissipating the heat, smoke and fumes.
 Idioms
account for (something) - to provide an explanation or answer for
something
The bad weather accounts for the fact that few people came to the
meeting.
back and forth - backwards and forwards, first one way and then
the other way
The argument went back and forth before the judge made a
decision.
better off - to be in a better situation than before
My friend would be better off if he sold his old car and bought a
new one.
break up - to separate, to divide into groups or pieces, to put an
end to something
We usually break up into small groups during our class.
 come up - to happen unexpectedly
I will not be able to go to the party if something else comes
up.
come up with (something) - to produce or find a
thought/idea/answer
I tried to come up with a name for the new magazine.
deal with (something) - to be concerned with something, to
take action about something
We will deal with the boxes tomorrow.
end up (doing something or going somewhere) - to do
something that one had not planned to do, to go somewhere
one had not planned to go
We ended up going to a restaurant after the movie last
night.
 figure out (someone or something) - to try to understand
someone or something, to solve something
I finally figured out how to use the new DVD player.
go over (something) - to examine or review something
The accountant will go over the books tomorrow.
We plan to go over that question tomorrow.
go through (something) - to discuss something, to look at
something, to do something
The teacher decided to go through the exercise before the
test.
go with (something) - to choose one thing rather than
another
We decided to go with the small rental car rather than the
large one.
 hang out (somewhere/with someone) - to spend one`s
time with no great purpose, to spend leisure time with
friends
Recently my friend has been hanging out with a group of
people who are not a good influence on him.
in effect - for practical purposes, basically
The man's silence was in effect a way of disagreeing with
the other people in the meeting.
in terms of (something) - with regard to something
In terms of our agreement with the other company we
were not allowed to sell the products online.
kind of - somewhat, more or less, moderately
I was kind of tired when I arrived home last night.
The company puts out a newsletter every month for the
employees.
 regardless of (something) - without considering or
thinking about something, without regard to something
Regardless of the weather we are going to go fishing
tomorrow morning.
rule out (someone or something) - to decide against or
eliminate someone or something
The police ruled out the man as a possible bank robber.
run into (something - a fact/trouble/problems/difficulty) -
to experience something, to encounter something
I ran into some interesting facts when I was researching
my essay.
 take over (something) - to take control of something, to take
command of something
The large company wants to take over some of the small
companies in our area.
turn in (something) - to give something to someone, to hand
something to someone
I arrived at school early so that I could turn in my essay.
turn out - to be found or known, to prove to be true
It turned out that more people came to the party than we
expected.
with respect to (something) - referring to something, concerning
something
I do not know what the company will do with respect to the old
computer system.
work out (for the best) - to end successfully
I hope that everything will work out for my friend when she
moves to London next week.
Comprehension Exercises

Ex. 1 Give the right idiom

1. Nobody wanted to separate their groups.

2. The shipping company provided the money to build
a new car carrier.
3. The engineer encountered some trouble when he
was replacing the piston.
4. We decided to eliminate Monday as the day to have
our meeting.
5. The company would be in a better situation if the
crew took onboard training.
6. I searched for the word in the dictionary.
 Ex. 2 Find the right place for the following words
cooling / smothering / starving
Fire can be easily extinguished if minimum one
element is isolated (fuel or heat or air).
Removal of fuel from fire is called ...
Removal of heat from fire is called ...
Removal of air from fire is called ...
 Ex. 3. Match the words with the parts of an extinguisher:
Squeeze grip nozzle
Fill cap
Carrying handle
Dry chemical
Hose
Puncture lever
Pull pin/seal
Cartridge guard assembly
CO2 cartridge
Thank you for your
attendance!
See you next week!