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Boat fire

FrigateCaptain

By FrigateCaptain
in General Boating

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David Mack Veteran II

David MackDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted (edited)

boat002.jpg

Whats behind your tiles? These pictures where taken a while back, the owner I think you will agree was very lucky!

 

boat004.jpg

 

 

 

This owner wasn't so lucky, he was found the next day. No smoke detector fitted, he fell asleep in his chair while a pan of 'spaghetti' was left on the electric hob. He'd had a couple of whiskeys, but a smoke detector going off in a 7' steel corridor would have woken him up in time and at least got out and saved his life.

 

 

umbra009-1.jpg

 

umbra006.jpg

 

<snip>

 

Or the pictures I posted about a year ago.

 

David

Edited by David Mack
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Barry Veteran

Barry

Posted
Posted

Smoke alarm in the galley results in definate false alarms so possibly battery removal. It is probably the worst place to put them.

 

My thinking as to the number and placement of smoke alarms is this. You are most vulnerable from fire when you are asleep. Therefore you need at least one smoke alarm close to where you sleep. If there is a door between your sleeping compartment and the rest of the boat then place it outside that door. It needs to be centrally placed on the ceiling (at least a foot away from corners because corners create dead spaces where there is little air movement). In this position the smoke alarm has the best possible chance to wake you.

 

Remember the smoke alarms (the ones most commonly available anyway) are extremely sensitive which is why they are a pain when in the wrong place. They are designed to go off at the first signs of smoke so you should have time to wake and leave the boat before the fire can get savagely bad.

 

The Fire Service would advise you to have an escape route in each direction in your boat so that you can leave in any direction, no matter where the fire starts. each exit, assuming it is lockable needs to be "immediately and easily openable" so Yale locks are excellent because you can lock the door and open it without a key. If they are dead locks it is a good idea to hang a key on a hook beside the door. My choice would be to keep all my keys on a key ring attached to my trousers and have a spare key for each outside permanently stored beside each door.

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Guest

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Posted
Posted

Smoke alarm in the galley results in definate false alarms so possibly battery removal. It is probably the worst place to put them.

 

Steam too can be a nuisance - causing false alarms so not too close to a shower/bath room either..

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ditchcrawler Veteran II

ditchcrawlerDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted

I bet you are like me -

 

first thing I do when checking in a hotel anywhere, is check out which way to the nearest fire exit.....

I comes of spending 20 years on gas platforms in the North Sea, going to different fire training grounds and getting rather to warm at times, crawling through smoke houses rubbing the skin of my nose.

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J R Community Regular

J R

Posted
Posted

Apparently he got out but naked just before the gas exploded.

 

Saw the OP a couple of days ago and asked if he knew anymore about the incident. Aparently the boat had been refitted 'fairly recently' and the fire seems to have started where the woodburner chimney went through the wooden roof. A couple of boaters have mentioned that there was a gas explosion that blew the remainder of the boat to bits. No other boats in the vicinity appear to have been damaged thank goodness. Hence the debris floating around. Very sad, and thankfully no loss of (human) life. Boats can be repaired/replaced; people can't.

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sueb Veteran II

sueb

Posted
Posted

Ref. ionization alarms, we have one in the back cabin and it goes off if any exhaust fumes from our genny enters even though we can't smell anything so it serves a dual purpose.

Useful to have if you moor near a boat with a generator.

Sue

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sparkybaz Gongoozler

sparkybaz

Posted
Posted

Rather naughtyly the first thing we did when we bought NC was remove the smoke alarm. After years of cursing at the one at home, placed rather stupidly in the hallway adjacent to the kitchen entrance next to the double oven/grill, we didnt want the hassle of resetting the boat one after every meal.

 

Our living quaters are relatively compact when compared to your average narrowboat where living and sleeping areas can be at opposite ends of a 70ft tube. If a fire breaks out in our living area whilst we are asleep, for example, im sure we would quickly become aware of it being only a few feet away. NC is kitted out with an array of fire extinguishers in strategic places (including an automatic system in the engine bay).

 

 

Phylis i've been reading your posts with interest and some sympathy for some time.

It does seem that you are the subject of a lot of Criticism and Derision by other members, however after reading the above post i can now see that the comments are perfectly founded!

 

Having served as a wholetime firefighter for 30 years yours is exactly the kind of attitude we've been trying to change for many years.

You may think that your invincible:

 

Don't Smoke

No kids

Dogs will wake me

It will never happen to me

I'm a light sleeper

 

Unfortunately your not only putting yourself at risk but adjoining boaters and Firefighters who would have to attend a fire on your boat (Attending a late call because you have no Smoke detector fitted) with the additional high risk of exploding LPG cylinders.

  • Greenie 2
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romarni123 Rising Star

romarni123

Posted
Posted

I remember many years ago being ridiculed by my firefighter colleagues for putting a smoke detector in every room in our house when '1 or 2 at the most will do', I tried explaining that our 3 kids had a TV each in their rooms. Over the years since domestic SDs appeared I have found a strange resistance to them, odd how these attitudes come about. Taken a long time but attitudes seem to slowly changing though people still put a lot of faith in their abilities in situations they have never experienced.

 

 

I have also put smoke detectors in my grandkids rooms,with tellys games consoles hair straighteners and all manner of electric items it makes sense to me.

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Guest

Guest

Posted
Posted

Phylis i've been reading your posts with interest and some sympathy for some time.

It does seem that you are the subject of a lot of Criticism and Derision by other members, however after reading the above post i can now see that the comments are perfectly founded!

 

Having served as a wholetime firefighter for 30 years yours is exactly the kind of attitude we've been trying to change for many years.

You may think that your invincible:

 

Don't Smoke

No kids

Dogs will wake me

It will never happen to me

I'm a light sleeper

 

Unfortunately your not only putting yourself at risk but adjoining boaters and Firefighters who would have to attend a fire on your boat (Attending a late call because you have no Smoke detector fitted) with the additional high risk of exploding LPG cylinders.

 

lecture over,,

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sparkybaz Gongoozler

sparkybaz

Posted
Posted

lecture over,,

 

No lecture, just advice.

You obviously have more knowledge of fire and fire related deaths than i do.

How long was your fire service career?

How many workmates have you lost needlessly lost attempting to rescue people who have put themselves and others at risk by pure stupidity?

Sorry, but the attide " I Know everything, it won't happen to me" is something i've seen time and time again!

  • Greenie 2
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Guest

Guest

Posted
Posted

No lecture, just advice.

You obviously have more knowledge of fire and fire related deaths than i do.

How long was your fire service career?

How many workmates have you lost needlessly lost attempting to rescue people who have put themselves and others at risk by pure stupidity?

Sorry, but the attide " I Know everything, it won't happen to me" is something i've seen time and time again!

 

Dear me..

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sparkybaz Gongoozler

sparkybaz

Posted
Posted

What a great shame

I thought i would join this website and gain a lot of knowledge and experience from genuine pleasant people.

However a lot of the posts i've come acroos have been from big headed, bigoted, self opiniated,selfish and iresponsible boaters!

Most topics turn into childish behaviour, and the girlish squabble between types of toilets (sorry girls) are unbeleivable!

Our intention was to retire in the next few years and spend more time on the boat, if we're going to end up as a couple of bitter and twisted old boaters, analising and critisiing everything and everybody every minute, everyday, then maybe it's not for us!!

 

I won't be returning, i'd rather learn from experience!

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Guest

Guest

Posted
Posted

What a great shame

I thought i would join this website and gain a lot of knowledge and experience from genuine pleasant people.

However a lot of the posts i've come acroos have been from big headed, bigoted, self opiniated,selfish and iresponsible boaters!

Most topics turn into childish behaviour, and the girlish squabble between types of toilets (sorry girls) are unbeleivable!

Our intention was to retire in the next few years and spend more time on the boat, if we're going to end up as a couple of bitter and twisted old boaters, analising and critisiing everything and everybody every minute, everyday, then maybe it's not for us!!

 

I won't be returning, i'd rather learn from experience!

 

Another one bites the dust,,,

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Posted
Posted

If you knew me you'd know that i'm far from Pompous!!

However people that know absolutely everything P++s me off big time!!

 

Perhaps if you had stayed around a bit longer before you hurled the teddies out the pram perhaps we might have done...

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