FIRE ON BOARD!

Today in the news there is a lot of talk about another fire on board of a yacht. The IRMAO is what insurance call a constructive total lost. Realistically speaking we need to consider that managing fires on board of plastic boats is not easy and neither is it on metal hull infact althrough they are built using a lot of flame retardant materials it remains still very difficult to manage a fire on board a yacht. This is slightly better for bigger yachts >500 gt that have different regulation. That said a lot can be done on the preventive side: careful maintenance of all the equipment on board, continues inspection of all the possible fire sources (keeping regularly an eye on the batteries to see whether there is strange think happening, unplug unused utilities etc etc) is already a good starting point. I have to say that since managing a fire on board is very complicate if the fire is in the engine room I believe it is very important to use the CO2 or the water mist system as soon as possible. Before using the CO2 you must obviusely be sure that the door of the engine room is closed (should be always at sea) and that that nobody is inside. Another common fire source is the kitchen. Realistically speaking this has a lot to do with crew training and prevention in fact a trained crew knows how to put off a fire in the kitchen as it always starts very small. Prevention is all about avoiding a fire in the kitchen and the person in charge here is the cook. Water toys have in the recent past be responsible for the total lost of several yachts. Their lithium batteries can be a real hazard if not handed properly. Lithium is delicate and you need to not only monitor continuesly while charging but also avoid to charge when the battery is hot and keep the ambient temperature under control. There is very little that can be done to put off a lithium fire. Lithium batteries are dangerous even when they power a small electric cigarette for this reason guest must be instructed to possibly leave everythink unplugged when leaving their cabin. There was recently a very good guideline by MCA about lithium batteries: https://lnkd.in/dpCgkzXK It’s to early to accertain the causes of the fire but be vigilant, act rapidly, be prepared are good ways to stay ahead of the problem. https://lnkd.in/dtVrm4Hc