In its Safety Digest, UK MAIB focuses on an incident concerning a fire that erupted onboard a vessel while it was sailing through the North Sea. In the beginning the crew was unable to find where the fire took place, as the sensor ‘A010’ was mistaken; Later on, the master detected the fire, which didn’t result to any fatal incidents.
The Incident
As a support vessel was sailing through the North Sea, the bridge fire alarm sounded, meaning a fire in Zone 1, sensor ‘A010’ – the captain’s deck office, immediately below the bridge. The OOW acknowledged the alarm and informed the master.
The master rapidly checked the deck office and the adjacent compartments. As he didn’t find any signs of a fire confirmed that the fire sensor number did not match the one displayed on the bridge panel. Then, the master moved to the bridge to check the Fire Detector List, which stated that sensor A010 was in the sky lobby, located immediately above the bridge. Again, a quick inspection of that compartment also revealed no sign of a fire.
Again, a quick inspection of that compartment also revealed no sign of a fire. Returning to the bridge the master and second officer reset the alarm, which immediately reactivated. They then checked the location of sensor A010 on the Fire Safety Plan and noted that it was located in the funnel casing.
After that, the master along with the chief officer and chief engineer, went to inspect the funnel. When they arrived, they noticed smoke escaping from a fire damper, and on opening the funnel door saw dense smoke and sparks within.
They put the vessel in emergency stations, and anchored to enable the propulsion system to be shut down. When the ship’s teams, wearing fire suits and breathing apparatus, entered the funnel, they found that the source of the smoke was an exhaust gas leak from a loose flange. The sparks had been caused by the hot exhaust gas charring the funnel insulation material.
Lessons to be learned
- The safe operation of large, modern vessels relies on automatic fire detection systems to quickly alert the crew so that they can take prompt and effective action to extinguish a fire before it takes hold. However, in this case, the wrong location on the bridge alarm panel resulted in a 20-minute delay. Thankfully, it was merely an exhaust gas leak. Had it been a serious fire, the delay in fighting it – with either fixed or portable fire-fighting systems – could have placed the safety of the vessel and the lives of those on board at serious risk.
- Routine inspection of onboard fire-fighting equipment is part of life at sea, and periodic checks of the ship’s fire detection system are central to this process. However, as this case reveals, checking that the fire sensors alarm is only one aspect of the test; the crew should also confirm that the location is accurately displayed and recorded. In this instance, the ship was 6 years old, and it is highly likely that the location of fire sensor A010 had been incorrectly recorded since build. The company has directed its fleet to amend its planned maintenance systems to ensure that fire sensor checks include confirmation that the correct location is displayed on both the bridge panel and supporting system paperwork.
