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  • Dealing with emergencies

    A few years ago on "Nationwide" if I remember correctly, they did a feature on the Naval services training, and one of the aspects was fire fighting.

    I was just wondering as regards such an emergency situation, god forbiding it would ever happen, what kind of procedures are in place to combat it, like is there assigned crew on board who are trained with hoses or is everyone trained in fire fighting? Is helecopter winching from the the different ships decks practised every so often to make sure it would be a slick enough affair if push came to shove?

    Sorry, its a dumbass question, but the atlantic is such an obviously hostile environment I'm just wondering how the crew could cope in an emergency on rough seas and whether the naval service and air corps (as well as the coast guard) are well enough equipped and trained to respond in time and if not what you'd like to see changed...

  • #2
    Everybody who goes to sea with the INS (Including NSR) is required to have a three day Marine fire fighting course done, this is up to Dept. of the marine standards. Everybody.

    The fire fighting teams are organised in three's or fours and up to four of these teams (i think) can be mustered. They will all be wearing protective suits and BA sets. The i/c should carry a TIC, a thermal imaging camera to see the fire/s. You won't see a hot fire because the smoke is so dense, you won't even see your hand up against the faceplate of your BA set. Scary scary experience in training. I don't ever want to have to fight a fire at sea.

    Another important person is the BA controller, he records when a team have gone in (and started to use air) so its up to him to send the next team in before the first teams air runs out, vital job.

    I have been on the course and found it first class.

    You WILL be afraid of fire when finished this course. Anyone that says otherwise is lying.

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    • #3
      Interesting that naval firefighting teams seem to have better equipment (TI cameras) than land based FF's at the moment. TI cameras are fairly rare on Irish fire appliances right now, though they are common in other areas.

      The Dublin Fire Brigade have an arrangement with the Coastguard to airlift specially trained ship-firefighting teams and equipment (eg portable pumps) to vessels on fire.

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      • #4
        TIC's are not nice to have's they are need to have's, the smoke is usually so thick that you cannot see an oil fire at five paces.
        I stood beside an oil fire in the simulator and only knew it was there when my leg got warm through the suit.

        Even if the fire brigade had TIC's, theyre not much use to a ship at sea, you can't call the fire brigade at sea, you are the fire brigade.

        TIC's are also useful for man-overboard searches at night.

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        • #5
          Firefighting at sea is a far scarier affair than that on land. An intense fire will burn or melt things you normally take for granted,such as your means of escape.
          Ships decks can heat up very quickly,and the amount of synthetic material used in modern ship design can turn a ship with a small fire into a white hot lump of toxic fumes within minutes. This is why for the most part,the average fire fighting team on modern vessels is often better equiped than the fire service on land.
          When i was at sea we were equipped with fire retardant silver suits when those on land still used donkey jackets and yellow oilskins.

          Consider also the amount of fuel stored aboard ship,relatively close to accomodation. A fire reaching this area can be disasterous. This is a situation you would never find on land. In practice,the Naval service and the Lifeboats are the fire brigade of the sea,as many pleasure craft and fishing boats do not have the appropriate prevention equipment,or properly trained crew.


          Catch-22 says they have a right to do anything we can't stop them from doing.

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          • #6
            I was involved in a couple of fires on the Eithne ranging from engine room fires and helo fires scary thought when your home is about to go smokey and the thoughts of a life raft are none too appealling.I was always impressed with the fire fighting abilities of the damage control teams. that three day course gave me an appetite for firefighting and I was fortunate to be able to qualify some years later at the CAA fire fighting school at teeside.The skills that I had learned in the navy stood me in good stead.CPO flynn was an excellent instructor...he had earned his laurels at the bantry bay disaster.
            Covid 19 is not over ....it's still very real..Hand Hygiene, Social Distancing and Masks.. keep safe

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            • #7
              The Dublin Fire Brigade have an arrangement with the Coastguard to airlift specially trained ship-firefighting teams and equipment (eg portable pumps) to vessels on fire.
              Does this apply to Naval vessels only? And what about a fire in the Atlantic? I would take a while to get the DFB lads out there in time, or do boat fires go on for days?

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              • #8
                The Royal Navy have a purpose built facility - can't remember where - but saw it on one of those afternoon shows. This thing is essentially a huge metal box on hydraulic stilts, the inside of it is laid out like the interior of a ship. The trainees are put into it, and then the effects of shell damage (flooding, fire, etc) can all be simulated. Just to make things even more interesting, by controlling the hydraulic stilts, the effects of ship listing can also be simulated. I found it fascinating to watch, anyway. Does the new Naval College facility have such a simulator?
                "Well, stone me! We've had cocaine, bribery and Arsenal scoring two goals at home. But just when you thought there were truly no surprises left in football, Vinnie Jones turns out to be an international player!" (Jimmy Greaves)!"

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                • #9
                  Yes it does and having seen it in action its quite spectcular...and they have the damage control option also..I reckon they should hire it out at weekends...beats the shit out of paintballing anyday!
                  Covid 19 is not over ....it's still very real..Hand Hygiene, Social Distancing and Masks.. keep safe

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Truck Driver
                    The Royal Navy have a purpose built facility - can't remember where - but saw it on one of those afternoon shows. This thing is essentially a huge metal box on hydraulic stilts, the inside of it is laid out like the interior of a ship. The trainees are put into it, and then the effects of shell damage (flooding, fire, etc) can all be simulated. Just to make things even more interesting, by controlling the hydraulic stilts, the effects of ship listing can also be simulated. I found it fascinating to watch, anyway. Does the new Naval College facility have such a simulator?
                    It sure does. The old one also had one. Don't know about the listing bit though, but the effects of working in ice cold water up to your neck is motivation enough no matter what aspect you are at.


                    Catch-22 says they have a right to do anything we can't stop them from doing.

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                    • #11
                      Hi all
                      A very good thread,this. I've spent time on rigs and refineries and we recieved NO firefighting training whatsoever. None, at all.We were shown where the escape ropes where fitted and how to get to the boat deck. In the North Sea, the rig crews are obliged to have escape boat and dunker training.Not so in the Middle East.Some of the lads I worked with, they had lost mates on the Piper Alpha and were very wary...the point about the flammable content of ships is well made.Don't forget all that lovely explodable ammunition, as well.I read somewhere that at least one of the RN vessels lost in the Falklands War, had it's forward gun turret collapse thru the deck following an intense fire below decks....every time I travel on a civvie ferry, and see the paint/rust encrusted fittings around the boat davits, I get worried and feel the urge to shell out for a personal lifejacket.
                      regards
                      GttC

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                      • #12
                        Does this apply to Naval vessels only? And what about a fire in the Atlantic? I would take a while to get the DFB lads out there in time, or do boat fires go on for days?
                        It's intended more for commercial and leisure craft, rather than naval vessels which have significant firefighting facilites onboard.- Many commercial ships also have trained firefighting teams, though these are mainly intended for "first-aid firefighting" and rescue.





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                        • #13
                          DFB arrangement with Dept of Marine is mainly for the provision of fire-fighting capabilities to the passenger and cargo ferries using the irish sea. The aim is to be able to put large numbers of professional fire-fighters onto a ship quickly to contain a fire before it gets out of hand. I don't think the remit goes as far as the atlantic. The marine fire-fighting arrangement is mostly concerned with the busy ferry routes between uk and ireland.

                          To this end the marine fire-fighting equipment is all pre-packed and ready for deployment onto a ship. With the introduction of the S61 helis quite large numbers of fire-fighters can be deployed into a ship with all their gear pretty quickly. The equipment contains a lot of TI cameras and specific marine fire-fighting gear. A large amount of medical gear ( including Defibrilators ) is alo carried as all DFB fire-fighters are EMT or Paramedic trained. This is for fire-fighter safety and treating injured passengers.

                          The marine fire-fighting course in DFB is quite extensive lasting 2 weeks ( i think ). Its mostly fire-fighting and rescues in BA in a specially constructed ship metal ship superstructure. Actual fires are lit in this to create zero visibility and heat conditions. The course also includes familiarisation visits and exercises on ferries, heli ops familiarisation and heli dunking training in Fleetwood. There are also joint exercises with welsh fire brigade and RAF depending on the locations of ferries.
                          An army is power. Its entire purpose is to coerce others. This power can not be used carelessly or recklessly. This power can do great harm. We have seen more suffering than any man should ever see, and if there is going to be an end to it, it must be an end that justifies the cost. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain

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                          • #14
                            A couple of months ago one of the p/v had a funnell fire early in the morning, this was put out in seconds, the vessel was 200 miles from shore -its amazing what halon or halon replacment does

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                            • #15
                              What are they using instead of Halon these days? CO2?


                              Catch-22 says they have a right to do anything we can't stop them from doing.

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