According to an IMCA report, a crewmember was medevaced after being hit by release of pressurized water from a hose expansion joint. The crewman was knocked unconscious and CPR had to be administered.
The incident
During a trial of fire-fighting equipment, a hose expansion joint or bellows failed, releasing pressurized water. The water hit a crewman who was nearby, slamming him backward and knocking him unconscious. The fire pump was shut down and CPR was administered. The injured person was medevaced.
As ICMA said, this incident could have been a potential fatality, as the injured person was in hospital for some weeks.
Probable cause
IMCA identified the following issues as contributors to the accident:
- Inadequate management of significant risk;
- No understanding of the life time of the expansion joint or bellows;
- No installation procedure provided for this bellows by the manufacturer;
- No preventive maintenance or inspection/testing of the failed equipment.
[smlsubform prepend=”GET THE SAFETY4SEA IN YOUR INBOX!” showname=false emailtxt=”” emailholder=”Enter your email address” showsubmit=true submittxt=”Submit” jsthanks=false thankyou=”Thank you for subscribing to our mailing list”]
Lessons learned
A similar rupture of a bellows took place some years previously, but it was not investigated. If it been investigated, it might have helped in preventing the same incident from happening.
In addition, engineering and design of critical equipment during new building should consider personnel safety as well as equipment protection. What is also important is the need for a better design review of pressurised equipment, particularly where different components are in use.
