site.btaDay 35: LT Stanislav Stefanov Shows Firefighting Equipment Aboard RSV 421

In conformity with the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, the Bulgarian military research vessel Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii (NAVAL RSV 421) has various equipment for preventing and extinguishing fires on board. Lieutenant Stanislav Stefanov, Third Engineer, explained for BTA that the ship has several types of firefighting equipment.

There are portable firefighting devices - three types of fire extinguishers (carbon dioxide, foam, and powder extinguishers) - and two stationary systems. One system uses seawater, which is utilized for cooling and, on rare occasions, for extinguishing fires. The other system is a carbon dioxide flooding system, which can put out a fire in the entire engine room. It is activated from the main deck, provided everyone has been evacuated from the engine room, Lieutenant Stefanov explained.

The ship has one emergency party and an emergency group, whose fire station is stocked with fireproof clothing, flashlights, a rope to which the firefighter attaches himself with a hook so that he can signal his colleagues and be located by them, axes, helmets, as well as breathing apparatus. The fire station should always be accessible so that it can be used in an emergency. In such a case, the emergency party of the main deck, comprising members of the deck crew and the technical sector, go to the fire station, equip themselves, and wait for the orders of the party commander.

If the fire cannot be extinguished, the entire room is pressurized. The room can be cooled from outside using hoses attached to the stationary seawater system, to prevent further damage from the fire, Lieutenant Stefanov said.

NAVAL RSV 421 is also equipped with early fire detection sensors and additional emergency escape breathing devices for fast evacuation in under 15 minutes. 

The state of the firefighting equipment on board the ship is checked monthly.