Fire on Ariel

[mrsmelly]

11 hours ago, TheBiscuits said:

After a sarky comment on another thread, I felt obliged to resuscitate this one ...

 

The fire extinguishers on a boat are there for one reason only - so the people can get off the burning boat!  That's it, end of!

 

I was so sorry to see Ariel burn, but the boat can be refurbished with another interesting chapter in her history.  The people are harder to replace ...

This is probably the best bit of advice and 100 percent correct that I have seen on the forum for quite some time.

[Jen-in-Wellies]

54 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

This is probably the best bit of advice and 100 percent correct that I have seen on the forum for quite some time.

I disagree!

?

[Mike Tee]

14 minutes ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

I disagree!

?

So do I - the hint is in the name 'extinguisher'.

Or should it be labelled 'Fire Retardant device to allow you to exit your home and watch it burn'?

Common sense has to play a part - if its a raging inferno, sod the 'Extinguisher', just get out - anything else is a judgement call.

[frahkn]

1 hour ago, mrsmelly said:

This is probably the best bit of advice and 100 percent correct that I have seen on the forum for quite some time.

Absolutely agree.

[frahkn]

1 hour ago, sirweste said:

Totally wrong, the hours required to upbring and train a useful adult human is significantly greater than pretty much all manufactured items

 

No, you must have misunderstood my post. I said replacements i.e. individuals to replace the current lot. If you think today's majority have had the benefit of the type of time consuming upbringing which you describe then you have been meeting different people to those who I see daily.

[Nightwatch]

1 hour ago, mrsmelly said:

This is probably the best bit of advice and 100 percent correct that I have seen on the forum for quite some time.

You know what? I also agree. If it's a small fire that hasn't taken hold then get in there quick and make it safe. But be very aware that fire can sneak up on you from behind. Firefighting courses at Phoenix whilst in t'navy were both exhilarating and bloomin'' frightening at times. 

[ditchcrawler]

6 hours ago, Nightwatch said:

You know what? I also agree. If it's a small fire that hasn't taken hold then get in there quick and make it safe. But be very aware that fire can sneak up on you from behind. Firefighting courses at Phoenix whilst in t'navy were both exhilarating and bloomin'' frightening at times. 

My company use to try and burn me up every 2 years as well

[mrsmelly]

8 hours ago, frahkn said:

Absolutely agree.

Anybody with any serious amount of training and knowledge on the subject will also agree.

[Richard10002]

At my last BSS inspection, the surveyor said that, if you could pick up a dry powder extinguisher on your way out, (perhaps the one by the exit you use), you could let it off through the door you just came through, and it would probably extinguish the fire - as well as making a powdery mess.

 

I have no idea whether it would work or not but, assuming I could do it from a position of safety, I’d give it a go.

[dmr]

I will risk upsetting the "experts" and offer the following.

Boats should have at least two exits, if its on fire you escape from the safe one. I can't envisage many situations where you escape past a fire using an extinguisher, if its that bad I would make a dash and risk some burns rather than fighting the fire. I suggest extinguishers are for fighting very small fires before they take hold.

There are two real issues, the extinguishers on boats are very very small, and most people have not a clue about what size of fire they can be reasonably used for.

We keep one by each door (plus several more) so we could have a go at fighting a fire after leaving the boat, but that's not a likely situation.

 

............Dave (who has done basic training in extinguisher use to tackle fuel fires and has twice used an extinguisher "in anger")

 

 

 

[Stilllearning]

8 hours ago, dmr said:

I will risk upsetting the "experts" and offer the following.

Boats should have at least two exits, if its on fire you escape from the safe one. I can't envisage many situations where you escape past a fire using an extinguisher, if its that bad I would make a dash and risk some burns rather than fighting the fire. I suggest extinguishers are for fighting very small fires before they take hold.

There are two real issues, the extinguishers on boats are very very small, and most people have not a clue about what size of fire they can be reasonably used for.

We keep one by each door (plus several more) so we could have a go at fighting a fire after leaving the boat, but that's not a likely situation.

 

............Dave (who has done basic training in extinguisher use to tackle fuel fires and has twice used an extinguisher "in anger")

 

 

 

Having been on a friend’s boat when there was a small fire during the night (stove overheating woodwork that was too close to the fire), we rolled out of bed onto the floor, to get below the level of smoke, and grabbed the powder extinguisher that he had carefully stowed under the bed, so that it could be found at night, in the dark, when needed in a hurry.

There should be something in the BSS rules about placing an extinguisher where he had placed his.

[Nut]

9 minutes ago, Stilllearning said:

Having been on a friend’s boat when there was a small fire during the night (stove overheating woodwork that was too close to the fire), we rolled out of bed onto the floor, to get below the level of smoke, and grabbed the powder extinguisher that he had carefully stowed under the bed, so that it could be found at night, in the dark, when needed in a hurry.

There should be something in the BSS rules about placing an extinguisher where he had placed his.

that must have been bloody frightning

[dmr]

17 minutes ago, Stilllearning said:

Having been on a friend’s boat when there was a small fire during the night (stove overheating woodwork that was too close to the fire), we rolled out of bed onto the floor, to get below the level of smoke, and grabbed the powder extinguisher that he had carefully stowed under the bed, so that it could be found at night, in the dark, when needed in a hurry.

There should be something in the BSS rules about placing an extinguisher where he had placed his.

Really interesting, the boat was full of smoke so did you decide to evacuate or tackle the fire? Common advice would be to run for it. I think I would make sure an exit was clear and unlocked but then if there was not an obvious raging fire I would try to tackle it.

I suspect it would be difficult for BSS to specify extinguisher location as there are so many boat layouts, but near the bed makes a lot of sense. Somewhere near the galley but not in the galley is good, somewhere between the bedroom and stove is good, but not right next to the stove..

 

...............Dave

[Stilllearning]

It was smouldering so we emptied the extinguisher then sat out the back. Bloody cold too!

[Mike Tee]

2 hours ago, Stilllearning said:

It was smouldering so we emptied the extinguisher then sat out the back. Bloody cold too!

What you should have done, according to some on here, is got out of the boat as quickly as possible, and stand on the bank waiting for the firemen to find your boat. You wouldn't have been cold though, the burning boat would have kept you warm.

[frahkn]

3 hours ago, dmr said:

Really interesting, the boat was full of smoke so did you decide to evacuate or tackle the fire? Common advice would be to run for it. I think I would make sure an exit was clear and unlocked but then if there was not an obvious raging fire I would try to tackle it.

I suspect it would be difficult for BSS to specify extinguisher location as there are so many boat layouts, but near the bed makes a lot of sense. Somewhere near the galley but not in the galley is good, somewhere between the bedroom and stove is good, but not right next to the stove..

 

...............Dave

This is very important.

 

My stern doors lock from inside so we use the bow as the main door. The stern doors are always unlocked when we are on the boat and at night the bow doors are locked but we leave the key in the lock.

 

We have an extinguisher by each door, in the galley and un the bulkhead by the bed.

[ditchcrawler]

All my exits can be opened from inside without a key, all 6 of them

[frahkn]

10 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

All my exits can be opened from inside without a key, all 6 of them

 

That would be very handy but is not possible (without a lot of work) on my boat.

 

The rear doors are secured by two bolts in the slide, these always have keys in but are a fiddle and the slide is heavy, I wouldn't guarantee unlocking it in smoke.

 

The front doors have a mortice lock so can always be opened as long as you don't have to search for the key.

 

The 6 side hatches lock with bolts but access is variously encumbered (sink, engine, desk etc) and again, I wouldn't trust them in an emergency.

 

 

[noddyboater]

I’m always amazed by the amount of boats you see with a padlock on the outside of the stern doors, while the occupants sit happily by the stove in the saloon. Absolutely mad in my opinion. 

I’ve only locked mine from the outside once and that was to keep herself happy as I’d decided to moor in Hanley Park for the night! 

[Rose Narrowboats]

Not just padlocked - there seem to be more and more boats round these parts with so much stuff in the well deck (particularly bikes) that you couldn't open the bow doors from inside anyway.

[dmr]

1 hour ago, Rose Narrowboats said:

Not just padlocked - there seem to be more and more boats round these parts with so much stuff in the well deck (particularly bikes) that you couldn't open the bow doors from inside anyway.

Saw one getting into a bit of trouble on a river a few years ago, he really really needed to get to the front to throw a rope ashore, too much stuff in the well deck to open the front doors and too much stuff on the roof to go over the roof. He had roof clutter but the popularity of huge solar arrays is another potential safety issue.

 

..............Dave

[1st ade]

2 hours ago, Rose Narrowboats said:

Not just padlocked - there seem to be more and more boats round these parts with so much stuff in the well deck (particularly bikes) that you couldn't open the bow doors from inside anyway.

^^^^ This - certainly around North Milton Keynes

[Alan de Enfield]

5 hours ago, frahkn said:

 

That would be very handy but is not possible (without a lot of work) on my boat.

 

The rear doors are secured by two bolts in the slide, these always have keys in but are a fiddle and the slide is heavy, I wouldn't guarantee unlocking it in smoke.

 

The front doors have a mortice lock so can always be opened as long as you don't have to search for the key.

 

The 6 side hatches lock with bolts but access is variously encumbered (sink, engine, desk etc) and again, I wouldn't trust them in an emergency.

 

 

 

So, basically, if the fire is between you and the front doors, you are dead !!

[TheBiscuits]

1 minute ago, Alan de Enfield said:

So, basically, if the fire is between you and the front doors, you are dead !!

Erm, I think you missed a bit Alan:

6 hours ago, frahkn said:

My stern doors lock from inside so we use the bow as the main door. The stern doors are always unlocked when we are on the boat and at night the bow doors are locked but we leave the key in the lock.

Frahkn knows his stern locks are too fiddly to do in an emergency, so makes sure they are unlocked when on the boat just in case!

[Alan de Enfield]

5 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

Erm, I think you missed a bit Alan:

Frahkn knows his stern locks are too fiddly to do in an emergency, so makes sure they are unlocked when on the boat just in case!

He said :

 

5 hours ago, frahkn said:

The rear doors are secured by two bolts in the slide, these always have keys in but are a fiddle and the slide is heavy, I wouldn't guarantee unlocking it in smoke.