36 SAFETY OF LIFE FROM FIRE AT SEA. 



much used in the engine and fire rooms but are not very hazardous if not left 

 lighted. 



Electric light wires should be run throughout in approved iron conduit. 

 Switchboards should be of slate or other non-combustible material and be set clear 

 of woodwork back of them, which should also be fireproofed with steel or asbestos 

 or both. 



FIRE PROTECTION. 



The most effective fire-extinguishing agent, water, is of course always available 

 in unlimited quantity, but to obtain the best results it must be properly applied. 



Flooding. — The simplest method would be to immerse the burning vessel, but 

 this can be done only to a limited extent because of the danger of foundering and 

 drowning of all on board. Before the days of steam machinery, water from out- 

 side was allowed to fill that portion of the vessel in which the fire occurred, but this 

 did not prove efficient since the water level could not rise sufficiently to submerge 

 the entire hold and its contents, and the fire was thus permitted to spread to other 

 portions of the vessel. In the case of the Volturno none of the holds was flooded 

 for fear of foundering, which demonstrated that this method of extinguishment is 

 not always practicable and that it is quite inefficient. 



Fire Pails and Chemical Extinguishers. — For incipient fires the water bucket 

 has always been useful, and even to-day it forms an important part of the fire- 

 protective equipment on shipboard and also in factories and miscellaneous build- 

 ings ashore. The records of the Associated Factory Mutual Fire Insurance Com- 

 panies show that fire pails extinguish the majority of fires occurring in some three 

 thousand factories insured by them. 



The so-called chemical extinguishers have also come into use on shipboard in 

 addition to the fire pails, and sometimes improperly in place of them. There are 

 several types of these extinguishers, the principal ones being the two and one-half- 

 gallon soda and acid extinguisher and the smaller, usually one quart, extinguishers 

 utilizing carbon tetrachloride liquid as the extinguishing agent. The soda and acid 

 extinguisher is in principle a water pail arranged to more effectively distribute the 

 water under pressure. The addition of the chemicals does not increase the efficiency 

 of the liquid to any appreciable extent. The principal weakness of this ex- 

 tinguisher is that it may not be in an operative condition when needed, but this can 

 be largely remedied by occasional inspection and test of it. 



The tetrachloride extinguisher depends upon the smothering effect of the chlo- 

 rine gas, which is liberated when the liquid comes into contact with the flame, for 

 extinguishment, and the extinguisher is effective only in small enclosed spaces 

 such as lockers, etc., where the gas can be confined. The liquid has but little cool- 

 ing effect, especially since it evaporates rapidly, with the result that the embers will 

 again burst into flame, thus requiring constant use of the liquid to insure complete 

 extinguishment. The chlorine gas also renders the use of the extinguisher impossi- 

 ble in large spaces where the firemen have to gain access to reach the fire. For 



