Here's the Hyundai Pennsylvania fireworks photo mentioned in the link
Posted on 05/05/2006 9:16:28 PM PDT by HAL9000
My Gosh!
Being under tow indicates likely DIW conditions. I have no idea how far aft the mains actually are on those ships. Very glad I wasn't on board.
Here's an interesting link wondering what was in the containers: http://eaglespeak.blogspot.com/2006/04/hyundai-fortune-fire-update-what-was.html
When we saw her she was not just DIW but totally dark, obviously without power. There were two salvage tugs, one towing and one alongside. We were close enough to easily read the "Hyundai" on the side in their lights, about 2 miles.
Sounds like the shippers need some stronger D.C. programs and education of the loaders as well. This one will come down on the Captain. He should have examined the manifest against location on ship at least on paper before getting underway. It sounds like the shippers could use what the Navy called a Damage Control Assistant. A good one fears no mans threats. Ours cut the Admirals pop corn machine cord for no saftey tag.
Here's the Hyundai Pennsylvania fireworks photo mentioned in the link
The Navy to a certain extent is trying to adapt such a policy via automation. Most fires on ships are found by alert crew members and the potentially serious ones can be under control before the Fire Party or DC team is manned and ready. But nothing replaces a rover watch for DC monitoring.
A ship is a very dangerous place to cut safety corners to save a buck be it on manpower or equipment. With todays technology though there is no reason for a ship to burn like that except for the fact cost have been cut by not using sprinklers etc. Further out at sea with no help from nearby ships the Hyundai fire below decks the only hope would have been to have completely flooded adjoining compartments as close as they could get to it and pray. Flood the opposite side if needed to correct the list. Top side get as much tossed over the side as possible and that takes manpower. Which rules that out on a freighter. It could have been worse on any of them. It could have been magnesium.
That's what I've heard. Being in the sub force, everyone was a firefighter. The positions I've held have always depended upon the watch that I was standing. For example, one time I was nozzleman offgoing, and DC phone talker oncoming.
I did have one though where the OBA went out on me two decks down. I wrapped my lips around the hose and got my lungs full of air then got out. I think those are gone now as well replaced with Scott Air Packs I heard. I hated the cannisters.
Yeah, I'm very familiar with OBAs. I hated them. Really easy to get burned with a hot canister. And what a pain they were when you were in your FFEs. We always had another person dedicated to the fireteams just so they could suit up their OBAs quickly.
They started to switch to scott air packs as you said, but I would still prefer the OBAs. Even though the scott air pack is superior to the OBA in almost every way, it has one drawback: the facemasks come in various sizes and you generally have to mold it to your face over time. This means that you can't give a random sailor a scott air pack and tell him to fight a fire, unless he has his facemask with him. I'm not sure how the Navy is handling that.
Future possible names: Smoking Hulk, Floating Ember, and the Abandoned Ship.
Not sure but I would say it could be practical to do a personal issue at least on the mask. When I was on FD we had our own OBA's and kept them next to the berthing area. We pre-adjusted our mask to where all we had to do was pull the bottom ??? straps tight when putting it on. You're right it would be a drawback but depending on the size & flexibility it may be practical to carry it in a pouch. I don't know enough about it to say though.
A friend of mine was an IC operator instructor at the Idaho Prototype back in the mid 1980's. He told me what he could about being on a sub. I think he was stationed on the PHENIOX also.
Very nice! I am heading out on the 14th on the Mariner of the Seas on the 7 night eastern carribean cruise. If a fire breaks out - i'm breaking out marshmallows.
A French lifeboat and helicopter have also been sent to the scene.
If the French get involved, they will definitely sink the ship. Of surrender it to one of the passengers.
Only if they're crossing Ice Fields.......
/sarc
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