BY STEVEN SNYDER AND MATTHEW THORNTON
After a rough six days on the Gulf of Mexico, the crew of the bulk-freight vessel was looking forward to the three days of R&R they had coming to them when they reached port. The mood was somber as they maneuvered through the channel, guided by the powerful engines of the harbor tug. Linemen and safety personnel readied themselves for duty as the ship approached its berth at the busy seaport. The big vessel’s pilot worked in harmony with the tug’s experienced crew, gently docking the massive ship while the port’s line handlers struggled to secure the mooring lines.
On deck, a crewman had begun to release the safety cables that secured one of the topside containers. The rough seas combined with an age-worn coupling caused the cable to suddenly shear, allowing the container to topple from its position onto the crewman below. The crewman hurled himself backward, but the heavy steel box pinned his right leg to the deck, crushing his ankle and severely fracturing his lower leg. Another quick-thinking crewman immediately radioed the captain and then used a deck crane to lift the box off his fellow crewman’s mangled leg.
 (1) The Port Manatee shipboard firefighting simulator. (Photos by Scott R..Smith.) |
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Had this unfortunate incident happened while the ship was in transit out in the middle of the gulf—or any large waterway, for that matter—this crewman would probably have been stabilized as best as possible and a rescue helicopter might have been summoned to fly him to the nearest medical facility. Unfortunately, that is the risk of working on the ships that travel the world’s waterways. But this particular accident had occurred while the vessel was in port.
The above is fictional, but it could be played out in any number of deepwater seaports throughout the world. Emergencies and crises do not lend themselves to the ordinary and the mundane. Much of a firefighter’s training is coordinated with the knowledge that anything that can happen will happen whenever it wants to happen. In the example above, a fire could have broken out in the ship’s hold, or a gas line could have been wrenched off, causing a hazardous-materials situation. The fact that a large number of ships travel throughout international waters may demand different tactics and strategies. The Port Manatee (FL) Fire Brigade is addressing this need for specialized, land-based firefighting and rescue techniques for emergencies that can arise in these marine environments.
SHIPBOARD FIREFIGHTING TRAINING SIMULATOR
Overseen by Port Executive Director David McDonald and the Senior Director of Operations and Maintenance Bebo Smith, members of the Port Manatee Fire Brigade constructed a three-story shipboard firefighting training simulator. The simulator is designed to provide the surroundings and normality of being onboard a ship as opposed to running a call in someone’s living room or place of business. Port Manatee, located in Manatee County, Florida, is across the bay from its sister port, The Port of Tampa. From meager beginnings, Port Manatee has grown to become the fifth largest of Florida’s 14 deep-water ports and hosted more than 1,100 ship calls in 2002. The diverse range of products handled by the port demands that the brigade be trained and ready to handle a multitude of emergencies and situations.
Formed in 1999 by Brigade Chief Bebo Smith, the Port Manatee Fire Brigade consists of Port Authority employees, some of whom work for or volunteer with the North River Fire District (NRFD) in Palmetto, Florida, which has a long-standing relationship with Port Manatee. While discussing different types of training scenarios the brigade could undertake, Captains David Boone and Steve Snyder developed the concept of the simulator. They drew up some rough plans and submitted them, with an estimated projected cost, to McDonald for approval.
With materials left over from other port projects, two cargo containers (one 40 feet long and the other 20 feet long), donated materials, and the blood and sweat of brigade members, construction on the simulator was begun. Working after their regular shifts and on weekends, the firefighters labored for several months as the simulated ship took shape. As construction went on, the original design was enhanced with new features. Several trips aboard a broad range of vessels moving in and out of the port yielded a variety of ideas for making the simulator as close to an actual ship as possible. Obstacles became challenges to the team. When at last the final coat of paint was applied, the brigade had built a functional and first-class training facility. Total cost was estimated at $4,000, including purchased materials and incidental labor.
SIMULATOR FEATURES
Built-in features include three separate floors with internal stairs and scuttle hatches. A working fire sprinkler system, complete with alarm panel, standpipes, and an International Shore Connection (ISC) (see photo 2), was installed.
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Two escape trunks with hatches and a 4- 2 4-foot rescue hatch aid in creating the atmosphere a potential rescue worker may encounter during a shipboard operation.
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Several full-sized bulkheads with watertight doors and locking dogs are located throughout the simulator. The bottom floor doubles as an engine room with a raised, grated floor and handrail, the same as you would find in an actual ship’s engine room (see photo 3).
On the second floor, movable walls are incorporated to create confined space situations. This level is also accessible by the movable gangway.
The wheelhouse occupies the third floor of the simulator and houses the control station for the sprinkler and standpipe system. This is a series of valves that control the flow of water to and from any room or sprinkler head throughout the “ship.”
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(5) A probationary firefighter takes advantage of the “panic door.” He got turned around, became separated from the hoseline and his crew, and ran low on oxygen air as a result of rapid breathing. The safety officer (background) led him to and out the door.
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Outside of the wheelhouse are the pilot’s wings (see photo 4), another of the design changes resulting from touring some of the ships that traversed the port’s own harbor. A scuttle hatch leads to the fly bridge at the top of the simulator. A handrail fully encloses the hatch; all the open areas on each floor are also fully enclosed by handrails. The “hull” has many of the markings found on just about every ship that enters the port.
Draft marks, numerals placed on the ends of a vessel indicating the depth of the vessel in the water; Plimsoll marks, symbols on the sides of a vessel’s hull at amidships that indicate the maximum allowable draft of the vessel, sometimes re-ferred to as Plimsoll lines; and inclinometers, instruments that measure the angle at which a vessel is leaning to one side or the other, provide information about the stresses acting on the vessel’s hull. They are important factors for consideration when fighting a fire aboard any ship. They were included so that trainees could learn to recognize changing factors that affect the ship’s structural integrity. The team’s intent was to create an environment that lent itself to many different types of shipboard emergencies while maintaining conditions as close to real life as possible.
The entire structure can be unbolted and disassembled by floors or moved by crane. The movable gangway can be relocated to the bow or stern, depending on the scenario. With safety as the utmost concern, exhaust stacks, ventilation doors, and emergency exits were installed to prevent injuries to personnel using the simulator during training. In a live-fire evolution, several spotters are used to ensure the safety of those training by leading them out of an emergency exit or venting the structure. Communication is paramount; on a given signal, the entire structure can be emptied of smoke in less than a minute.
THE TRAINING COURSE
As the project neared completion, Boone and Snyder contacted Captain Robert Miller of the NRFD, who worked in conjunction with the Manatee Technical Institute to form a 48-hour training course in marine firefighting for land-based firefighters. The course combined classroom instruction with tours of ships docked at Port Manatee and, of course, some live-fire scenarios in the simulator. This initial class laid the groundwork for establishing the Manatee Technical Institute’s marine firefighting curriculum. Members of the Port Fire Brigade and firefighters from the NRFD attended the class.
Prior to this class, there was no formal training for land-based shipboard firefighting at the local level. Just acquiring textbooks on the subject was a challenge. The International Fire Service Training Association (IFSTA) has devoted two textbooks to the study of fire onboard ships. The first text, Marine Fire Fighting, published in 2000, was directed at vessel crew members. It was recognized that a text for land-based firefighters would have some similarities but should contain an explanation of vessel construction, systems, and cargoes that would not be necessary for the professional mariner. With this in mind, a second book, Marine Fire Fighting for Land-Based Firefighters, was published 2001. Both manuals are the direct result of five years of work by the IFSTA Marine Firefighting Committee, which compiled information outlined in National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1405, Guide for Land-Based Fire Fighters Who Respond to Marine Vessel Fires. The latter text, along with its accompanying workbook, was used for this first of its kind training course.
 (6) In this training scenario, the attack crew gains access to the seat of the fire inside the second-floor entryway. After the fire is extinguished, they will search the room for victims. |
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Although a great deal of time was spent studying the text in the classroom, the Port’s simulator was an integral part of the student’s hands-on training. Its realistic construction and features gave the firefighters a sense of what an actual shipboard emergency might entail. Scenarios were devised to simulate several of the potential hazards that could confront crews during shipboard incidents. All in all, the simulator was judged a success and given a thumbs up by the students and instructors.
Future classes, some arranged through the Manatee Technical Institute, are scheduled to provide firefighters from other departments the opportunity to train in simulated shipboard firefighting. Other agencies have also expressed an interest in the Port’s unique training apparatus.
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As useful as the simulator is in providing realistic vessel situations, the bottom floor, which houses the engine room and bulk freight compartments, has an added value as a live-fire training environment. In this respect, it can be used in much the same way as a burn building for controlled environment fire suppression training evolutions. Other scenarios could include confined-space rescues, rappelling operations (see photo 7), high-rise rescue situations, and hazardous-materials emergencies. The training possibilities are vast because the simulator can be adapted for several potential hazards and situations as required by an agency’s needs.
Even after completion of the simulator, its builders haven’t stopped coming up with ideas to make it more realistic and user friendly. Plans to incorporate another bulk container on the front of the “bow” to simulate a larger cargo hold area will ultimately lead to more diverse training scenarios. Alarms and realistic sounds that will provide an audible backdrop for simulated missions are other options being discussed. Ongoing training by the Port Fire Brigade and other agencies will no doubt lead to even more tweaking and fine-tuning. But, as it stands now, the simulator has proven to be a success, providing many of Manatee County’s firefighters with the opportunity to train in an environment that is as close to an actual shipboard setting as possible.
STEVEN SNYDER has been a career firefighter/EMT with the North River Fire District in Palmetto, Florida, for six years and serves as a captain on the Port Manatee (FL) Fire Brigade.
MATTHEW THORNTON has been an engineer/EMT with the North River Fire District in Palmetto, Florida, for the past 11 years and recently joined the ranks of the Port Manatee (FL) Fire Brigade.
