FIRE & SAFETYIs Your Crew Really Prepared?Photo: Crowley MaritimeIf you think training is expensive; try ignorance. By Luke CarpenterIn the ensuing years following the Exxon Valdez disaster, Once a ? re starts, crews are instantly playing catch up. the maritime industry has made great strides in training Early detection and alerting are important to reduce the mariners to prepare for, respond to and mitigate a multi- time needed for a ? re to grow. Smoke alarms should be tude of emergencies aboard vessels. For example, the envi- tested and maintained as well as engineroom alarms or ronmental performance of the marine industry itself has all other ? re detection systems. but eliminated much of the oil that formerly entered the water through marine error or equipment failures. Never- This is Not a Drilltheless, the incidents with vessels that do occur, large and When the alarm is sounded it’s time for training to kick small, bring into question the effectiveness of the training. in. Has your crew trained on the equipment provided to A ? re aboard a vessel can be a nightmare. That’s because them? Are they pro? cient in all aspects of its use? A good a ? re? ghter ashore, in certain circumstances, can ? ght a example of this occurred recently when a student demon-? re defensively; that is from outside the structure. Mari- strated the proper way to don a self-contained breathing ners can’t do that, so their choices are limited – use the apparatus (SCBA) but then did not know how to change tools they have to combat the ? re or abandon ship. out the air cylinder when it was exhausted. Lack of pro? -ciency in this crucial step can cause lost time in a rescue The Best Fire is No Fire effort or a ? re attack that may change the outcome of the When I taught ? re safety for commercial ? sherman in event. Drills should include all elements of the natural pro-Seattle, one point I always stressed was that the best way to gression of a ? re emergency, like changing out air bottles.? ght a ? re is not to have one. As obvious as this seems, it’s A ? re, even a small one, aboard a vessel will produces very important and the key to safety at sea. Studying the ac- lots of acrid, choking smoke that will quickly reduce vis-cident reports published by the USCG or the NTSB makes ibility possibly throughout the entire boat. If your vessels it clear that human error can be attributed to the causation are equipped with SCBAs, then ensure that crews train in of most incidents. Deferred maintenance, poor housekeep- using them in limited or zero visibility. Can they don them ing, failure to follow guidelines and complacency are key quickly in the dark? If your vessels do not have SCBA, can factors in the causes of any marine incident including ? res. your crews escape in zero visibility? www.marinelink.com MN 29MN FEB14 Layout 18-31.indd 29 MN FEB14 Layout 18-31.indd 29 1/20/2014 10:04:21 AM1/20/2014 10:04:21 AM