|
cover for ships and submarines Plymouth is home to the largest Naval Support Complex in Western Europe, covering an area of some 300 acres with over three miles of deep water berths, five fitting out basins and 14 dry docks. Formally owned by the Ministry of Defence and used solely as a Royal Navy Dockyard, Devonport Royal Dockyard is now largely owned and managed by Devonport Management Ltd (DML). As anyone who is involved in the business of fighting fires will testify, ship firefighting is particularly difficult and hazardous. A mostly metal structure, miles of cabling, as well as cramped and restricted spaces, make this sphere of operations particularly challenging for the operational firefighter. It is to the Devon Fire and Rescue Service (DFRS), in partnership with the Royal Navy, DML and the Defence Fire Service, that this task falls. Camels Head Fire Station is the nearest local authority fire station to the dockyard (less than one-and-a-half miles distant). It has two pumping appliances, a hydraulic platform and Specialist Rescue Unit, and can provide an average attendance time of three minutes over the whole dockyard site. Many ships in dock will be 'in commission', which will mean a crew on board and the ship capable of supplying its own power as well as all its fixed firefighting installations being operative and available. These fixed installations will include an automatic fire detection system covering part (high risk areas only), if not all of the ship; an inert gas system covering areas such as engine rooms and machinery spaces; a fixed water main for firefighting purposes; breathing apparatus and protective clothing for naval personnel; thermal imaging equipment and numerous other pieces of firefighting equipment such as hose, branches etc. When attending incidents on commissioned ships, DFRS currently works to the guidance as laid down in the Dear Chief Officer Letter, (6/1990), Firefighting on RN Ships, Submarines and RFA in Ports and Dockyards. (DCOL 6/1990). Broadly speaking this details the responsibilities each of the various parties involved will have. The Officer of the Day (OoD) is the ship's officer responsible for overall safety. The DFRS are summoned to all reports of fire, and on arrival their senior officer will meet with the OoD. The ship's OoD has two choices. If he or she thinks that the situation is under control, the brigade will be asked to 'stand by'. If the ship's officer decides that fire brigade assistance is required to extinguish the fire, he or she will ask them to undertake firefighting operations. At that point, command and control of such operations will formally be delegated to the senior fire brigade officer in attendance. Close and effective liaison is maintained throughout the period of the incident. Naval ships that are undergoing major works or refit and not in commission, generally do not have a crew of any sort. However, as part of the refit process, DML employ a watch keeper system which supplies personnel for security of the ship and also for first attack firefighting. This provides a contact point for the DFRS when they attend incidents involving ships undergoing refit. The responsibilities for command and control as well as firefighting rest solely with the fire brigade senior officer present. As with other areas of firefighting and rescue work, the best way to ensure a safe and successful incident is to pre-plan and prepare. This is certainly true of firefighting on naval vessels. There is close liaison between all the organisations involved, at all levels. DFRS provide an officer (Divisional Officer rank) as their liaison point; DML have their own health and safety department and the Defence Fire Service have a staff of five officers. joint exercises are held each month with the Royal Navy on commissioned ships and every quarter an exercise is held on a ship undergoing re-fit. Also, regular 'risk visits' are made to naval vessels within the dockyard by brigade crews, partly to familiarise with specific ships and also to foster good working relationships with naval personnel. In addition, the firefighters from Camels Head Fire Station have the opportunity to practice entry, containment and ventilation techniques on a 'ship structure' training rig which is located at their station, ensuring they are well trained and prepared for those incidents that do occur. AcknowledgementThe following are gratefully acknowledged for providing the information used in this paper:CFO Paul Young, Devon Fire and Rescue Service. The above is an article that appeared in Fire (August 1999) |