Did you know that two-thirds of fires on board vessels happen in the engine room? Fires on ships can quickly turn into an environmental disaster with massive consequences to the ship, cargo and personnel. It is one of the last things that you want to deal with out in the open sea. This article will provide you with information on how to prevent an engine room fire.
Why should you care about an engine room fire?
Engine room fires are very challenging to deal with. Whilst out in the middle of the sea, a fire is the last thing you want – especially in the engine room. Fire can happen in many areas that do not have a big effect on the ships ability to move, however, if a fire breaks out in the engine room, it can completely cripple the mobility. If stranding out in the middle of the sea isn’t bad enough, it also puts the crewmembers and passengers in danger of injury or death.
What causes an engine room fire?
There are all sorts of flammable liquids in the engine room on ships. All three elements of the fire triangle are present and when combined with bad luck, a fire could break out resulting in devastating consequences. This could easily come from all the heat sources in the engine room. Things like a hot exhaust pipe, defunct electrical equipment and engine surfaces are all sources of ignition. However, fire in the engine room could also come from human errors during different kinds of maintenance in the engine room.
What system should you use for an engine room fire?
The standard equipment used for fighting a fire in the engine room is usually hand-held fire extinguishers and fixed extinguishing systems. However, this does not prevent a fire. In order to prevent an engine room fire, an atmospheric oil leakage detector should be a top priority of yours. Oil mist and vapors comes from processes that use fuel oils – just like a vessel. An oil leakage detector will alert you if the level of oil mist and or gases in the engine room increases. It sets off an alarm resulting in more safety during trips across the sea.
Find the right supplier
A fire prevention system is an important investment to make. However, there are multiple solutions for oil mist detectors. At Daspos, they have developed a detector that, unlike traditional fire detectors, alerts you before any ignition has happened. This gives you the opportunity to react before any devastating consequences happen to your ship, assets or crewmembers. Their main priority is to bring people home safely and secure a safe journey across the sea.
Leave a Reply