Fire and explosion prevention

Risk locations: Kitchen, drums, and more.

On boats, when they have it, one of the places most at risk of fire is the kitchen Since it is generally gas-powered, it is advisable to ensure that these pipes do not have leaks and, above all, to have a good exhaust fan to prevent its accumulation. Also the engine room It is another place with high risk, so we must pay special attention to its ventilation to avoid gas accumulation that they can produce and above all special surveillance of fuel intakes to avoid spills and leaks.

The electrical installations This is perhaps the most important point to take care of, since a short circuit can cause a fire that could even result in the loss of the entire boat.
For this purpose, it is advisable that all circuits have protectors (fuses, battery disconnectors, etc.).

Another important point to keep in mind is the batteries since its electrolyte, in addition to being corrosive, releases flammable gases which can cause an explosion, so it is very important that we always keep it in a good state of conservation.

If we have paint chest It is also advisable that the containers are well closed since they also give off gases whose accumulation can be dangerous.

Fire Tetrahedron Theory

For a fire to occur, a series of factors must occur which, together (fuel, oxygen, temperature) adequately produce a reaction that It manifests itself in the form of a flame. We could define fire as a chemical reaction of a fuel with an oxidizer (a substance that under certain conditions of temperature and pressure can combine with a fuel, causing combustion, the most common being oxygen) where a release of light and heat energy occurs.

It follows from the above that for this to occur A fire with flames requires 4 elements what is called the tetrahedron theory.

• Fuel: substance capable of burning (solid, liquid or gas).
• Combustible: generally the oxygen (air contains 21 %).
• Heat: which is the activation energy (e.g. heating of a wire).
• Reaction: the flame that is what makes it stay and spread. It can exist flameless combustion when (fuel, oxygen and heat). Combustion can cause:
  • Smoke
  • Gases
  • Heat
  • Flames

UNE classification of fires: A, B, C, D and E

These are those produced in combustible materials. solid, as wood, paper, cardboard, canvas, etc.
When these materials burn, they leave residues in the form of embers or ashes. They go out by cooling by applying water jet or mist.

Class "B" (Bravo) Fire:

They are those that occur in liquids Flammable fuels, such as oil, gasoline, paints, etc.. Also included in this group are: liquefied petroleum gas and some fats used in the lubrication of machines.
These fires, unlike the previous ones, do not leave residue when burning.

Class "C" fire (Charlie):

They are produced by combustible substances soft drinks like the butane, propane, etc. They turn off by suffocation with dry powder or Halon inert gas.

Class "D" fire (Charlie):

They are those that are produced by combustible metals as titanium, aluminum, etc. They turn off by cooling and suffocation.

Class "E" (Echo) Fire:

They are produced by electrical or electronic equipment or installations.
They turn off by suffocation with dry powder or with carbon dioxide (CO2) or with inert gas such as
he Halon.
It is important to know that this type of fire Water should never be applied to it because it is a conductor of electricity.

Water as an extinguishing agent: Cooling and suffocation

The main characteristic of water as an extinguishing agent is its great capacity to cool to the absorb heat.

In turn, it has another important characteristic since the steam it produces is heavier than air, so when it moves it produces a cooling effect. suffocation.

You have to have a series of precautions When using this extinguishing agent, it should not be used on fires of certain metals such as aluminum, magnesium etc.., since when applying it give off flammable gases.
On the other hand, being conductor of electricity It should also not be used for these types of fires, and finally due to its density it is ineffective for less dense liquid.

Therefore water is ideal for class A fires, which through special techniques can be used in class B fires and is ineffective or dangerous on class C and D fires.

Fire Extinguishers: Basic Use and Optimal Use

Fires produced by Combustible or flammable liquids, flammable gases, greases and similar materials where extinction is assured more quickly excluding the
air (oxygen), limiting the release of combustible vapours either interrupting the reaction in the combustion chain. Fire extinguishers for risk protection B must be selected from the following:

• Carbon dioxide
• Pdry olive
• ANDfoam
• ANDaqueous film-forming foam – solkaflam

Basic use of a dry powder fire extinguisher:

The chemical powders currently used are not toxic although can cause breathing problems and make visibility difficult during or immediately after discharge, but should not be used on a person who is burning since when they come into contact with an aqueous medium they decompose forming an acid which, although very weak, can cause chemical burns on skin affected by the fire.

When we discharge dry chemical powder fire fighting equipment on a fire, the fire is extinguished almost instantly, making it very effective.
Being poor conductors of electricity are advisable for extinguishing this type of fire.

Before use it should be shaken, and Direct the jet at the base of the flames with a sweeping motion.
In the event of a liquid fire, project the extinguishing agent superficially by sweeping, preventing the pressure of the drive itself from causing the burning liquid to spill, slowly approaching the fire until a maximum of one meter.

The person using it must always have an escape route behind them that will not be blocked by fire.

This extinguishing agent acts by suffocation Since when it decomposes due to the effect of heat, it produces metaphosphoric acid, a sticky residue that covers the burning surface and isolates the contact of the fuel with the oxygen in the air.
However, since solid fuels generate embers, it is advisable to apply water once the fire has been extinguished, since the powders do not penetrate into the interior of the combustible mass.

It is recommended for your conservation Shake (shake it for about two minutes) the extinguisher once a month to prevent the dust inside from packing or settling. It is also necessary to regularly ensure that it is available, operational and fully charged, also checking that the annual inspection sticker is not expired.

How to proceed in case of a fire

Fires on board are often the result of poor boat maintenance or human error. A dirty and poorly ventilated engine, a bilge full of hydrocarbons, fuel drums heating up in the sun, poor attention to the gas stove or a damaged electrical circuit are frequent causes of fires.

Fire extinguishers are essential safety elements and must therefore be placed in
places strategic and accessible.
We should not use water to fight electrical fires and if we have no other option, we should first cut off the current.

We must use gloves, cotton and wool clothing, covering the face with cotton handkerchiefs soaked in waterIn the event of a fire, manoeuvre appropriately to reduce the spread of the fire. This will give you more time to extinguish it and/or alert rescue teams and prepare to leave the area.

Extinguishing procedure: Cooling, smothering, dispersion and inhibition.

Cooling

It is the fire extinguishing mechanism that It works by removing heat to reduce the temperature of the fuel..
The fire goes out when the surface of the burning material cools to a point where it does not allow enough vapors to escape to maintain combustion in the fire zone.

Suffocation or drowning

Drown or smother the fire by removing oxygeneither of combustion (oxidizer). This prevents the combustible vapours, which are released at a certain temperature for each material or fuel, from coming into contact with the oxygen in the air. This can be achieved by displacing the oxygen by means of a certain concentration of inert gases (inerting), covering the surface of the liquid with a non-combustible substance (covering)

Fuel dispersion or isolation

Also called malnutrition and consists of remove or dispose of the fuel elementIt would be the most effective and direct method of extinction, but in practice it is hardly applied due to its difficulty.

Inhibition of chain reaction

It is the method used to prevent the fire from spreading, and consists in preventing the transmission of heat from some particles to others in the fuel, interposing separating instruments between them.

To put out the fire

It is important that at the time the fire starts, stop the boat since speed helps to fan it and to avoid burning ourselves leave the fire zone to leeward.

In order for the fire to be better controlled and for the smoke to be as unobtrusive as possible, it is advisable for it to come out vertically, for which we will try to do so. the apparent wind is zero, which is achieved by putting
he heading downwind and at the same speed, so if the wind is from the North with an intensity of 10 knots we will head South at a speed of 10 knots.