Marine firefighting is fundamentally different from land-based firefighting. At sea, you cannot call for reinforcements — the crew is the fire brigade. SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) requirements mandate specific fire detection, suppression, and structural fire protection systems on all inspected vessels.
The fire triangle and sea-specific factors
Removing any element of the fire triangle (fuel, oxygen, heat) extinguishes the fire. At sea, the methods differ from land:
- Fuel removal — cutting off the fuel supply to engine room fires; removing cargo from the vicinity
- Oxygen exclusion — flooding a space with CO₂ (fixed system) or halon/clean agent; closing all vents
- Cooling — water application on decks and surrounding bulkheads (boundary cooling)
Fire zones and structural protection
Every SOLAS vessel has a fire plan showing the structural divisions between fire zones. A-class divisions (A-60, A-30, A-15) maintain structural integrity and prevent fire spread for 60, 30, or 15 minutes under a standard fire test. B-class divisions prevent flame spread for 30 minutes. The Fire Boundary game tests your knowledge of which openings penetrate which divisions and how to preserve their integrity during a fire.
Fixed fire detection systems (smoke detectors, heat detectors, flame detectors) and automatic suppression systems (sprinklers, CO₂, foam) are all SOLAS-required on different vessel types, and knowing how to operate them correctly — without smothering crew members — is life-critical knowledge.