Fire Training System
Re-train your brain: fight a fire, extinguish a fire
The pandemic effect of COVID-19 extended the time on board, something that has subsequently increased crew members’ chronic fatigue and stress, and hence reduced the human performance and created the “ideal” conditions for the ‘perfect storm’ in our case, the outbreak and escalation the ignition of an onboard fire.
Under this new normality, and always in the framework of PROACTIVENESS and EFFECTIVENESS we should continue to pursuit the desired state of zero incidents dealing thus with fire in a proactive and effective manner. A fire on board can ignite from many sources and then spread with frightening speed and intense, threatening the seafarers, the vessel, and when in port, potentially the surrounding facilities.
VENLYS Maritime Specialisation Services, supporting our clients as always, has developed a complete training system which aims at re-training our brain, so when there is an on-board fire, the assigned crew members will be able to deal with the fire, fight it and eventually extinguish it.
In particular, the developed training package is divided in the phases and tasks, as shown in Figure 1, below.
FIRE FIGHTING PROCEDURE : ASSESSMENT AND TRAINING
Our firefighting training system includes:
- Assessment and Training on Board: Our trainers/auditors assess the current firefighting capability (focusing on crew members) on board, through the conduction of fire drills and the evaluation of the current procedures (EPRM), to highlight the main strengths and weaknesses of the current status; this will be surveyed and analysed in depth, to evaluate the fire drill procedures, firefighting techniques, familiarization and applicability of the existing procedures. Therefore, in an undesirable case of fire, a revised, more effective firefighting process will be proposed Moreover a new tool will be tailored made in each case in the form of a dedicated handbook. Additionally, a limited set of KPIs will be proposed if so agreed, focusing on the monitoring and fire extinguishing capability of the crew members. Finally, based on all aforementioned findings tailor-made on-board training will be proposed and scheduled.
- Courses On Shore: The on-shore firefighting seminars are considered to be essential, especially for the officers, who should realise the importance of the proposed revised firefighting process. In these courses, we analyze the fundamentals of fires, the (timely) importance of the initial actions, how to correctly use the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and a breathing apparatus The seminars will be so advanced that will deal and thoroughly explain topics such as the re-entry firefighting techniques and the achievement of having the targeted result in a safe manner for all involved members.