In the SOLAS Convention and other maritime related standards, the safety of human life is paramount. Ships and other watercraft carry life saving appliances including lifeboats, lifebuoys, life-jackets, life raft and many others. Passengers and crew are informed of their availability in case of emergency. Life-saving appliances are mandatory as per chapter 3 of the SOLAS Convention. The International Life-Saving Appliance (LSA) Code^[2] gives specific technical requirements for the manufacture, maintenance and record keeping of life-saving appliances. The number and type of life-saving appliances differ from vessel to vessel, and the code gives a minimum requirement to comply in order to make a ship seaworth..

A ship is approved to sail in international waters only if it is constructed as per the Fire Safety System code and carries required Fire Fighting Appliances approved by the concerned authority.

A ship is fitted with various types of fire retardant and fire fighting equipment so as to fight any kind of fire and extinguish it as soon as possible before it turns into a major catastrophic situation.

In this article, we bring to you a list of important fire fighting equipment and measures present on board

LIFE RAFT

Rescue quoits with minimum 30-metre lines.
Non-folding knives with buoyant handles.
For 12 persons or less, one bailer. For more than 13 persons, 2 bailers should be kept.
Two sponges.
Two buoyant paddles.
Three tin openers.
Two sea anchors.
One pair of scissors

LIFE BOAT

Lifeboats are basically small boats that are kept aboard a ship to carry out emergency abandonment, in case of mishaps such as man overboard, ship accidents, etc. occur. They primarily function as a device for swift and effective evacuation of people in distress from the ship and then aid them to a safe location.

LIFE JACKET

High-quality foam life jackets, which protect swimmers and non-swimmers from drowning. Rounded collar keeps head above the water, even if the wearer is unconscious. Thanks to the divided buoyancy chambers made out of soft PE foam, this solid vest offers a pleasant and comfortable fit. In order to stay highly visible while in the water, two reflective stripes have been integrated into the life jacket, along with its bright orange colour

CO2 SYSTEM

CO2 flooding system or central bank CO2 system is one of the common fixed fire fighting system installed on most of the ships. It releases carbon dioxide (CO2) in bulk quantity to a protected space (such as engine room, cargo hold, purifier room, pump room, etc.) under fire. Smothering action of CO2 extinguishes the fire thereby preventing spreading of fire to other parts of the ship. It consist of several CO2 cylinders located in a separate room, called CO2 room. These bottles contain CO2 in liquid state. When the fire in a protected space goes out of control or in a situation when the fire is not able to extinguish by local fire fighting media, CO2 flooding system comes into picture. CO2 from the bottles directed via common manifold, main valve and distribution pipe lines to nozzles through which it is released to the protected space for fire extinction. Due to safety reasons, the CO2 flooding system is manually released from a release cabinet located outside the protected space

FIRE EXTINGUISHER

A dry powder fire extinguisher is an extremely versatile extinguisher choice since it can be used on almost all fire types. That being said, it is not recommended to use a dry powder fire extinguisher in an enclosed space.

BREATHING APPARATUS
(SCBA)

When workers are at risk of exposure to dangerous concentrations of hazardous substances or lack of oxygen, self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) is the first choice. Firefighters put their lives on the line in such situations to save others – and that’s why we’re proud to be one of their biggest suppliers of SCBAs. These products supply the wearer with breathable air from a compressed air vessel or through a pneumatic system connected with hoses. When selecting SCBAs, it’s important to consider that you need as much protection as necessary with as little weight as possible – so you can get the job done without hindrance