1.16 Fire Extinguishing equipment in the engine room

The crewmembers and other personal onboard must familiarize themselves with the muster list and Emergency Instructions which are displayed onboard.

• Remove the combustible material

• Remove the heat

• Remove the oxygen

The classification is also used for extinguishers and it is essential to use the correct classification of extinguisher for a fire, to avoid spreading the fire or creating additional hazard.

Class A: Fires burning wood, paper, upholstery and furnishings

Class B: Fire burning liquids such as lubrication oil and fuels

Class C: Fire burning gas fuels such as liquid petroleum gas 

Class D: Fire burning combustibles material such as magnesium and Aluminum.

Class E: Fire burning any of the above material together with high voltage electricity

Extinguishing Media - Water, Foam (powder is unsuitable in special circumstances)

The best way to extinguish a fire involving Class A material is water, applied in the form of a spray.

Extinguishing Media – Foam, powder, Co2 . Class B fire are fires with oil and other flammable liquids. Cutting off the available supply of oxygen by covering the surface with foam is considered to be the best method for extinguishing an oil fire.

Extinguishing Media- Powder, Co2 Class C fires are gas fire, all inert gasses work by limiting the oxygen supply to fires in enclosed area. 

Class D fire are comparatively rare and usually require special extinguishing method and Special powder required. 

Extinguishing media - Co2, Powder Co2 gas does not conduct electricity and is the most suitable medium for extinguishing electrical fire.

Powder extinguishers can also be used.

• Detection

• Alarm

• Control

Detector is the electric circuit to ring an alarm bell.

If the fire occurred in the engine room ------ alarm bell will sound in the machinery space and also on the bridge or other designated space

If the fire in the other space ---------------- Alarm bell will sound on the bridge and other space

Any fire discovered in its early states will require, the finder to give alarm and or make the decision to deal with it himself if he can.

Giving alarm can take many forms such as shouting “Shouting Fire”, banging on bulkheads or any action necessary to attract attention.

It is necessary to give alarm and effort quickly onto the fire.

Two basically different types of equipment are available on board ship for the control of fires.

• Small portable fire extinguishers and

• Large fixed installations system

A Fixed Foam Fighting System on a ship is a fire suppression system designed to combat flammable liquid fires, such as oil or fuel fires, commonly found in engine rooms and cargo areas. The system uses foam concentrate mixed with water, creating a foam blanket that smothers the fire by cutting off the oxygen supply and preventing re-ignition. It's activated manually or automatically and is critical for handling large-scale fires that water alone cannot effectively extinguish, enhancing safety in high-risk areas on the vessel.

A CO₂ Fire Fighting System on a ship is a fire suppression system that uses carbon dioxide gas to extinguish fires, particularly in machinery spaces and engine rooms. CO₂ works by displacing oxygen, suffocating the fire without damaging equipment. It’s effective against electrical, oil, and fuel fires but requires careful handling due to the risk of asphyxiation in confined spaces. This system is typically activated manually, ensuring rapid response to critical fire incidents while minimizing damage to sensitive equipment.