jimcleary
James M. Cleary
When we originally purchased Dana (30 years ago next month) she had a Halon fire suppressant system installed in the engine compartment. Years later when Halon was outlawed, existing systems were allowed to remain but never to be recharged after dumping. We have never had the need to use it so it still sits, armed and ready. I've always wondered if the system would still work if it was called upon. At a Safety At Sea Seminar a while ago I saw a perfect plan "B" in case the halon no longer functions. If you have a fire in the engine compartment, the worse thing you can do is to open the companionway steps to get at the fire. This just supplies the fire with much needed oxygen and makes things worse. The plan "B" is to drill a hole in the companionway just behind the fire extinguisher that hangs there. If a fire is suspected in the compartment, remove the extinguisher, pull the pin, stick the nozzle in the hole and discharge. The ABC dry chemical extinguisher is not as good as the Halon would be at suppressing the fire but it's better than opening the hatch. The photos should tell a quick and better story.