Installed Firefighting Systems News

An engine room fire last week aboard a 485-foot, Bahamian-flagged chemical tanker has left the vessel disabled without propulsions about 700 miles west of Cape Blanco, Oregon, killing one crew member, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) reported. According to the USCG, the fire was extinguished using installed firefighting systems, however, the ship sustained damage to its generators, leaving the crew with minimal battery power. USCG air and cutter forces were called in to assist the tanker’s 22-person crew.

The Canadian tug Everlast was anchored in Portland Harbor, Maine, for inspection on Friday after a pump room on the barge it was pushing caught fire Thursday night. While anchored, the 400-foot double-hulled barge was evaluated by a Coast Guard marine inspector and Portland Fire Department officials to determine the extent of the damage caused by the fire. Steps were taken to move the tug and barge to the Portland Ocean Gateway terminal for additional repairs to the installed firefighting systems late Friday evening. “The Portland Fire Department was outstanding in accurately assessing the potential for the fire reflashing and helping to craft an appropriate response strategy to this casualty,” said Capt. Jim Rendon, commander of CG Sector Northern New England.

In 1904 a boiler onboard the steamship vessel General Slocum exploded, killing 1,000 people in the ensuing blaze. Even though the conditions that existed on the General Slocum would no longer be a factor on modern ships, safety at sea is still a relevant concern today. This summer, cruise ships, whale watching cruises, passenger ferries, dinner cruises and chartered fishing vessels will transit Cape Cod waterways with millions of visitors, leaving rescuers in the region faced with an enormous number of potential victims should a maritime disaster, like the fire on the General Slocum, occur. Surprisingly, to many firefighters and Coast Guardsmen alike…