FIRE ON BOARD SHIP.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LXXXI, Issue 10257, 27 January 1894, Page 3

FIRE ON BOARD SHIP.

TO THE EDITOR. Sib,-—I read with much interest the letter from Mr Harris regarding fire on board the s.a. Kaikoura. The suggestion contained in that letter is undoubtedly a good one, and it the Board of Trade would only insist on every passenger vessel carrying proper appliances for the extinction of fire, instead of worrying the shipowner with some of their present prohibitive rules and regulations, they would be taking a step in the right direction. Many lines of steamers carry portable fire extinguishers, besides the ordinary water appliances, which are placed in different parts of the vessel. They are exactly what Mr Harris refers to only on a smaller scale, and can be carried about on a man's back. The P.S.N.C. and Chilian Steamship Company’s boats on the coast of Peru and Chili have them. The passenger boats of the London Steam Navigation Company, and if I am not mistaken, the P. and O. and Orient line are also fitted with them. No one, except those who have had to fight a fire, know what a dreadful foe it is, and of all places on board ship. Can anyone imagine a more fearful position to be in than to be on board one of these steamers with, say, two or three hundred fellow-passengers, far away from all help, and a fire raging on hoard. Now it has been proved that these chemical engines are undoubtedly the best means of coping with a fire, especially one that is confined to an enclosed space like a ship’s hold, and I contend that shipping companies who carry a large number of passengers should be compelled to carry one or more of these appliances, so as to protect, as far as possible, the valuable lives in their charge. Fortunately, the two fires that have happened lately have been on board vessels which were within reasonable distance of help, and in a part of the world where the weather and sea ate moderate. But suppose it had happened half-way between hero and Cape Horn, in wild and stormy weather, and a mountainous sea running, when any vessel requires every ounce of buoyancy she has got. What would have been the consequence? In the Euahine case, they dare not have flooded the hold to the extent that they had to do in order to put the fire out, for the simple reason that the extra amount of weight in an already loaded ship would put her so deep in the water as to make her dangerous, and, if I am informed rightly, they had to flood this vessel’s hold twice before the fire was extinguished. I trust that in the interest of the thousands of passengers who year after year travel in these large passenger steamers, some steps may soon be taken to compel the different companies to; carry the best and most approved appliances for the extinction of fire. I may add that the outside public do not always hear of every fire that occurs on hoard ship.—! am, &c., WANDEBEB.