Fire on dive boat Conception in CA

[shoredivr]

I keep reading that California diving is unique due to the cold water and weather. However cold water diving happens in many places.

How do British liveaboard boats handle fire safety, for example? Here’s one that’s a converted fishing boat, but I don’t see anything about fire safety on a quick scan of the website, perhaps I missed it.
Contact - M.V. Invincible - Scapa Flow Scuba Diving Holidays

Another that’s a Danish converted fishing boat
The Boat – Halton Charters

This one’s a former HMS navy ship, and their fire safety plan includes crew practicing fire fighting drills on each trip:
MV Valhalla liveaboard dive boat - Orkney and Shetland Charters


I can’t think of a running Great Lakes Canadian liveaboard, one that used to operate was a converted steel tugboat.

Apparently the last British Columbia live aboard stopped running in 2014.

http://www.nautilusswell.com/lum_sea_pg10.pdf

I’m asking because other cold water dive places have fire and safety regulations for liveaboards. Hope someone from the UK can chime in.

 

[Akimbo]

I would like to see fire suppression / sprinkler system below become part of the conversation in the future. I don't believe it to be that expensive of a retrofit if hiding the pipes (for aesthetics) is not an issue.

I was talking to a co-worker (a mechanical engineer with a masters in fire suppression science) about this incident and she considers that sprinklers system is one of the best cost effective risk mitigations steps to take.

As long as the bilge pumps are upgraded and backed up to dewater the compartment, I'd like it.

As you both know, sprinklers on vessels introduce the risk of sinking or capsizing it because of the added weight. I made the suggestion in this post that smaller vessels could use simple more limited system than used on buildings. The vast majority of fires in sprinkler-protected buildings are put out by one sprinkler head within a few minutes. A simple and relatively inexpensive solution for small boats could have a dedicated tank of fresh water sized for the vessel so it wouldn't make it unstable.

Fires start about the 4 minute mark​

On the sprinkler system in the bunk room issue, if people aren't allowed to charge batteries in the bunk room, is that still a credible enough threat to warrant such measures? Any system you install may malfunction; wouldn't want the sprinkler system hosing us down unnecessarily.

A fire sprinkler systems engineer told me that less than 1 in a million thermally activated sprinkler valves fails. The biggest concern on a boat is the small spaces complicates an effective design and more care must be taken to prevent accidental impacts with a sprinkler valve.

The most common fires on boats would have to be
Engine oil/hydraulic oil
Cooking oil
Electrical components
Sprinklers are the last thing you would want.

True, except for electrical fires. It is easy to design the system so that water sprinkler heads are not in these areas. The engineer has a lot of different heads available with very well defined disbursement ranges. They can do things like design a sprinkler that wets down the area around a stovetop only by choosing different deflectors.

Circuit breakers are the first line of defense on electrical fires in a sprinkler-protected space. It is a good idea to use GFCI circuit breakers on vessels anyway. Smaller boats are fine with fuses.

 

[Basking Ridge Diver]

A simple and relatively inexpensive solution for small boats could have a dedicated tank of fresh water sized for the vessel that so it wouldn't make it unstable.

Why does it need to be fresh water? Yes I know corrosion and all on any metal components - but this is a fire and hopefully one time use. Use a separate pump and plumbing with an intake screen and pump directly from the water you are sitting in - fresh or salt.
Seems simple and effective - and only activates when needed. Dont use positive pressure but rather a dry system that activates when needed. Think cold weather parking garages.

 

[Akimbo]

Why does it need to be fresh water? Yes I know corrosion and all on any metal components - but this is a fire and hopefully one time use.

I suggest fresh water because corrosion and biologicals in sea water could compromise system reliability -- no other reason that I can think of.

 

[BRT]

Why does it need to be fresh water? Yes I know corrosion and all on any metal components - but this is a fire and hopefully one time use. Use a separate pump and plumbing with an intake screen and pump directly from the water you are sitting in - fresh or salt.
Seems simple and effective - and only activates when needed. Dont use positive pressure but rather a dry system that activates when needed. Think cold weather parking garages.

Dry systems are positive pressure systems. There is water pressure against the air/water valve all the time and air pressure in the system.

 

[Basking Ridge Diver]

I suggest fresh water because corrosion and biologicals in sea water could compromise system reliability -- no other reason that I can think of.

Fire boats pull from any source they are sitting in - this could be the same approach. A harbor fire boat does not use fresh water. The approach is put the fire out.

Dry systems are positive pressure systems.

Technically you are correct - I should not have said positive pressure - where I was headed was the water does not need to be in the system and charged. Leave it dry and pump only when activated.

 

[markmud]

I suggest fresh water because corrosion and biologicals in sea water could compromise system reliability -- no other reason that I can think of.

The only concern for using salt water on a shipboard fire is electrical. The first thing a marine firefighter should do is shut down ancillary electrical circuits that could be feeding the fuel with heat. Next use your main deck fuel shut off valves to keep gasoil (diesel fuel) from adding to the fuel load.

A firefighter can be electrocuted using salt water to fight a fire. There is more than one reason to shut-off the juice.

Great points Akimbo. The sprinkler video was great.

markm

 

[Akimbo]

Seems simple and effective - and only activates when needed. Dont use positive pressure but rather a dry system that activates when needed. Think cold weather parking garages.

My concern with dry systems is they are more complex, which makes them inherently less reliable. However, the freezing issue is a consideration since many boats are left at the dock unmanned through the winter. It is a discussion worth having. I would like to see the USCG work with fire sprinkler pros to develop marine-grade systems and regulations. I'm confident that sprinklers save lives and a lot of property, which is a secondary consideration, but go hand in hand.

 

[dmaziuk]

Water: freezes, silt and salt, if you use the outside stuff, fouls up the pipes and joints, not much good with fuels that float up top or where there's rich chunky volts are present, may sink the boat. Dry systems: need storage, enclosed spaces, pressure-proof piping, "human-safe" ones cause frostbite.

 

[PDX Diver]

A sprinkler system might save the boat, but not the occupants of the room. They would succumb to smoke inhalation before the fire got hot enough to set off the sprinklers. It's about early detection and egress.