Articles: Drill Bits: Know your extinguishers

Next in our ‘Drill Bits’ series – where we help you get the most out of your drills – we look at the portable fire extinguishers.

It is important that seafarers conduct regular focused emergency response training as well as full scenario-based drills. This keeps knowledge current and fresh. In this instalment of our ‘Drill Bits’ series, we will help you conduct a training drill about portable fire appliances, looking at classes of fire, extinguisher types, their uses and where they are located on board. This knowledge can then be put into practise as part of other scenario-based drills in the future.

Preparation

Identify a suitable area to conduct the training session. Bring together one of each of the different types of portable firefighting appliances to allows everyone involved to become familiarised in what they look like and how to use them safely. You may have extinguishers or blankets on board that are dedicated for training purposes, which is even better.

In this drill, the crew can complete a fire extinguisher quiz! We have provided you with questions (for the crew) and answers (for the officer running the drill). The officer running the drill can simply add the ship’s specific detail such as fire extinguisher locations.

Try to split the crew into small teams to allow more involvement and so they can discuss their answers openly. The officer in charge (typically the Chief Officer) should emphasise to all participants that this is NOT a test; there is no ‘pass’ or ‘fail’ for the individual. Groups should have mixed experience where possible; don’t have all the junior crew in one team and the seniors in another.

The senior officer should hand each team the following questions.

Question Time

	Question	Example answer
1	How many classes of fire are there?	5
2	What are these classes called and what kind of fires do they represent?	Class A: solid combustibles, such as wood, paper, coal. Class B: flammable liquids, such as petrol, oils, fats, paints Class C: flammable gases, such as methane, hydrogen, acetylene Class D: flammable metals, such as magnesium, lithium, sodium Class F: combustible cooking material, such as deep fat fryers in commercial kitchens There is no longer a Class E
3	What are the 3 elements of the fire triangle?	Fuel, heat and oxygen.
4	What type of extinguisher has a blue colouring on it?	Dry powder
5	What type of extinguisher has a cream colouring on it?	Foam or Aqueous film forming foams (AFFF)
6	What type of extinguisher has a black colouring on it?	CO₂
7	What type of extinguisher has a red colouring on it?	Water
8	Which element of the fire triangle does dry powder remove?	Dry powder fire extinguishers contain an extinguishing agent, which is propelled out of the extinguisher body by a compressed, non-flammable gas. The agent forms a ‘blanket’ over the fire, smothering it and preventing re-ignition.
9	Which element of the fire triangle does CO₂ remove?	Carbon dioxide extinguishes work by displacing oxygen or taking away the oxygen element of the fire triangle. The carbon dioxide is also very cold as it comes out of the extinguisher, so it cools the fuel as well.
10	Which element of the fire triangle does water remove?	Water extinguishers work by firing water at the fire, this cools them removing the heat
11	Which element of the fire triangle does foam remove?	Foam or AFFF (aqueous film forming foam) works by creating a blanket over the fire therefore smothering the fire and removing the oxygen.
12	Which type of extinguishing medium is used in a deep fat fryer galley range fixed system?	The wet chemical forms a thick soapy foam-like blanket over the surface of the burning oil/fat which stops oxygen from reaching the fire and smothers the flames.
13	Which type of extinguisher do you have near your laundry and why?	Specific to your vessel
14	Which type of extinguishers do you have near your galley and why?	Specific to your vessel
15	Which type of extinguisher would you have at the end of your cabin alleyways and why?	Specific to your vessel
16	Which type of extinguisher would you find in the switchboard area and why?	Specific to your vessel
17	Which type of extinguisher would you use on a Class A fire?	Water
18	Which type of extinguisher would you use on a Class B fire?	Foam, Dry Powder or CO₂ – you can use any of these to smother a liquid fire.
19	Which type of extinguisher would you use on a Class C fire?	The best measure is to cut off the source of the gas, in some cases dry powder may work.
20	Which type of extinguisher would you use on a Class D fire?	These are usually special extinguishers, such as L2 or M28 dry powder fire extinguishers. You may not have these on board
21	Which type of extinguisher would you use on a Class F fire?	Typically, a wet chemical extinguishing system
22	What other portable fire extinguisher would you find in the galley?	Fire blanket
23	What is the danger to you when using a CO₂ extinguisher?	When used in enclosed spaces, the CO₂ will reduce the amount of oxygen in the space. Upon discharge the nozzle will get ice cold; holding it in the wrong place on the nozzle may result in a hand injury. The discharge is quite violent and can result in the extinguisher being statically charged
24	Before using an extinguisher, what steps should you take?	Make sure the extinguisher is the correct type for the fire. If the extinguisher is a stored-pressure type, make sure that the gauge shows it as fully charged. Remove the extinguisher from the bracket, check the overall condition. Before entering the space or approaching to close to the fire, tilt the extinguisher so the release handle is pointing away from your head, this way if the top fly’s off when you discharge it, it won’t hit you in the face! Point the nozzle away from the fire and carry out a test discharge, checking the throw of the extinguisher – this should be very brief to make sure it works and not waste the contents. Approach the fire and release the entire contents of the extinguisher. Reminder: never return a used extinguisher back to its original designated location – put it aside for refilling/servicing and place a full extinguisher in the designated location.

Debrief

Don’t forget the importance of the debrief! Here is an opportunity to discuss the answers with the teams altogether. Remember this is not a “pass or fail” situation; it should be an open and frank discussion. Discuss the answers, giving explanations where necessary, and always encourage interaction.

Drills work best when you create a safe space to learn. Participants must not be afraid to speak up, so ensure the atmosphere allows positive interaction.

Afterwards, remember to update your record of emergency drills.

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