STCW BASIC TRAINING
Ship Fire Prevention - Answer- Ship design and construction
-steel/fire retardant materials
-subdivisions
-fire protection systems
Good housekeeping practices important
Number 1 cause of fire - Answer- CARELESS SMOKING HABITS!!!
- DISPOSAL
- SMOKING IN BED
- DISREGARD FOR RESTRICTED AREAS
• POOR HOUSEKEEPING
- Dirty/oily machinery
- Clothes drier lint accumulation
- Improper, non-secured storage
Examples of poor housekeeping practices - Answer- -Complacency about fire safety on the job
-careless disposal of smoking materials
-defective electrical components
-spillage of flammable materials
-careless work habits
Fire Triangle - Answer- fuel, oxygen, heat
All of these components are necessary for a fire to occur The removal of any one component will cause
the fire to be extinguished
Fire Tetrahedron - Answer- Heat, Fuel, Oxygen, Chemical Chain Reaction
All of these components are necessary for a fire to occur The removal of any one component will cause
the fire to be extinguished
Heat - Answer- Anything that produces the required temperature for ignition will satisfy this leg of the
triangle
- Sun
- Open Flame
- Chemical Reaction
- Sparks
- Friction
- Static Electricity
- Biological Processes
Oxygen - Answer- The Earth's atmosphere consists of 21% oxygen
Because fire needs oxygen to burn, the amount of oxygen available to it controls the rate at which it burns
Fuel - Answer- Only vapors burn
• Liquids & solids are too dense and must first be vaporized
• The tendency of a substance to vaporize is an indication of its ability to burn.
• Liquids vaporize more readily than solids
• Gases are already in a vapor state
, Chain Reaction - Answer- You can have Oxygen - Heat - Fuel in the same place at the same time and
still not have a fire (explain)
• FUEL - OXYGEN relationship must be balanced, i.e., must be in the Flammable Range
• Heat must be sufficient to bring fuel to its "Ignition Temperature"
To Stop a Fire - Answer- • remove the fuel
• remove the heat
• remove the oxygen
• interrupt chemical reaction
OR • do any combination of above
Classifications of Fires - Answer- Five classes of fire:
1. Class A - combustible solids (wood paper, rubber)
2. Class B - combustible and flammable liquids and gases (oil, gasoline)
3. Class C - energized electrical equipment (electrical equipment, wiring, appliances)
4. Class D - combustible metals (sodium, zinc, manganese)
5. Class K - cooking material (animal/vegetable fats)
Flash point - Answer- FLASH POINT (of a Liquid)
- The lowest temperature at which a liquid gives off sufficient vapor to form an ignitable mixture at the
surface of the liquid
- Fire flashes across the surface given sufficient oxygen and an external source of ignition
- Lowest temperature at which we can have a fire
- Indicator of the severity of a fire hazard
Fire Point - Answer- Just above the flash point - liquid vaporizes rapidly enough to sustain continuous
combustion
Ignition Temperature - Answer- - Lowest temperature of a combustible substance at which sustained
combustion will occur without a spark or flame
- Substance starts to burn
Auto Ignition - Answer- - vapor generated ignites without any external ignition source (e.g., Petroleum
oils ignite by themselves at 490 to 765 degrees)
- These temperatures are several hundred degrees higher than the flash point
Vaporization - Answer- - rate increases with temperature
- A flammable substance is more hazardous at an elevated temperature because more fuel is available
Spontaneous Combustion - Answer- Spontaneous Combustion - heat is generated by a chemical
action within a substance and this continues until you have ignition
• Usually begins with oxidation and combines with oxygen and gives off energy in the form of heat
- Some substances are more prone (e.g., oils combining with air particularly animal and vegetable oils
cause heat to generate quicker than dissipated)
• Heat sufficient for combustion can also be generated by chemical reactions and also by biological
processes
- e.g., mixing too much epoxy, composting
Lower Flammable Limit - Answer- The least concentration of flammable vapors in the air that will burn
(lean limit)
Upper Flammable Limit - Answer- The greatest concentration of flammable vapors in air that will burn
(rich limit)
Results of Combustion - Answer- Smoke, Flame, Heat and Gases
Ship Fire Prevention - Answer- Ship design and construction
-steel/fire retardant materials
-subdivisions
-fire protection systems
Good housekeeping practices important
Number 1 cause of fire - Answer- CARELESS SMOKING HABITS!!!
- DISPOSAL
- SMOKING IN BED
- DISREGARD FOR RESTRICTED AREAS
• POOR HOUSEKEEPING
- Dirty/oily machinery
- Clothes drier lint accumulation
- Improper, non-secured storage
Examples of poor housekeeping practices - Answer- -Complacency about fire safety on the job
-careless disposal of smoking materials
-defective electrical components
-spillage of flammable materials
-careless work habits
Fire Triangle - Answer- fuel, oxygen, heat
All of these components are necessary for a fire to occur The removal of any one component will cause
the fire to be extinguished
Fire Tetrahedron - Answer- Heat, Fuel, Oxygen, Chemical Chain Reaction
All of these components are necessary for a fire to occur The removal of any one component will cause
the fire to be extinguished
Heat - Answer- Anything that produces the required temperature for ignition will satisfy this leg of the
triangle
- Sun
- Open Flame
- Chemical Reaction
- Sparks
- Friction
- Static Electricity
- Biological Processes
Oxygen - Answer- The Earth's atmosphere consists of 21% oxygen
Because fire needs oxygen to burn, the amount of oxygen available to it controls the rate at which it burns
Fuel - Answer- Only vapors burn
• Liquids & solids are too dense and must first be vaporized
• The tendency of a substance to vaporize is an indication of its ability to burn.
• Liquids vaporize more readily than solids
• Gases are already in a vapor state
, Chain Reaction - Answer- You can have Oxygen - Heat - Fuel in the same place at the same time and
still not have a fire (explain)
• FUEL - OXYGEN relationship must be balanced, i.e., must be in the Flammable Range
• Heat must be sufficient to bring fuel to its "Ignition Temperature"
To Stop a Fire - Answer- • remove the fuel
• remove the heat
• remove the oxygen
• interrupt chemical reaction
OR • do any combination of above
Classifications of Fires - Answer- Five classes of fire:
1. Class A - combustible solids (wood paper, rubber)
2. Class B - combustible and flammable liquids and gases (oil, gasoline)
3. Class C - energized electrical equipment (electrical equipment, wiring, appliances)
4. Class D - combustible metals (sodium, zinc, manganese)
5. Class K - cooking material (animal/vegetable fats)
Flash point - Answer- FLASH POINT (of a Liquid)
- The lowest temperature at which a liquid gives off sufficient vapor to form an ignitable mixture at the
surface of the liquid
- Fire flashes across the surface given sufficient oxygen and an external source of ignition
- Lowest temperature at which we can have a fire
- Indicator of the severity of a fire hazard
Fire Point - Answer- Just above the flash point - liquid vaporizes rapidly enough to sustain continuous
combustion
Ignition Temperature - Answer- - Lowest temperature of a combustible substance at which sustained
combustion will occur without a spark or flame
- Substance starts to burn
Auto Ignition - Answer- - vapor generated ignites without any external ignition source (e.g., Petroleum
oils ignite by themselves at 490 to 765 degrees)
- These temperatures are several hundred degrees higher than the flash point
Vaporization - Answer- - rate increases with temperature
- A flammable substance is more hazardous at an elevated temperature because more fuel is available
Spontaneous Combustion - Answer- Spontaneous Combustion - heat is generated by a chemical
action within a substance and this continues until you have ignition
• Usually begins with oxidation and combines with oxygen and gives off energy in the form of heat
- Some substances are more prone (e.g., oils combining with air particularly animal and vegetable oils
cause heat to generate quicker than dissipated)
• Heat sufficient for combustion can also be generated by chemical reactions and also by biological
processes
- e.g., mixing too much epoxy, composting
Lower Flammable Limit - Answer- The least concentration of flammable vapors in the air that will burn
(lean limit)
Upper Flammable Limit - Answer- The greatest concentration of flammable vapors in air that will burn
(rich limit)
Results of Combustion - Answer- Smoke, Flame, Heat and Gases
