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Fire is one of the most feared accidents aboard a towboat. It presents an immediate personal hazard to crew members. In addition, a fire that progresses will ultimately engulf the entire vessel. When control is lost, the tow is at the mercy of the forces of nature. A catastrophic accident could well result. This text is meant to help inland mariners better understand fire, its causes, what can be done to prevent it, and how to use fire safety equipment to undertake a first response. Once a fire starts, it must be controlled and extinguished quickly. |
Few inland mariners receive formal fire fighting training at an approved maritime school. Neither this text nor the on-board training course it supports can make one a competent fire fighter. This text was written to support an on-board training program. It grew out of the need to provide the person conducting on-board training with concise, accurate information regarding towboat fire fighting. There are many texts and video programs for marine fire fighting training. The problem is their blue water orientation. Brown water mariners do not have the same level of fire protection nor sophisticated equipment on their vessels. A brown water mariners must be smarter and better trained in order to deal promptly and correctly with a fire before it gains ground and requires heavy duty extinguishing gear. The best fire is the one that never needs to be fought and thus the title: Towboat Fire Safety, not Towboat Fire Fighting. |
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