PSC deficiency code 01309: Fire control plan - all
Area 01 Certificates and documentation
The fire control plan shows, deck by deck, how the ship is laid out for fighting a fire: control stations, fire sections and their boundaries, detection and alarm, extinguishing equipment, means of access and the ventilation system with its fan stops and dampers. Officers use it on board, and shore fire fighters use the copy kept outside the deckhouse. With code 01309, the doubt is whether the plan shows the ship as she really is.
What the inspector looks at
The check often starts on the bridge and ends at the gangway.
- plan permanently exhibited, or a booklet for each officer with one copy kept accessible
- extinguishers, hydrants, fire doors and dampers on the plan compared with what's on board
- alterations recorded after modifications
- language: the one the flag requires, with an English or French translation if it's neither
- a duplicate set in a marked weathertight enclosure outside the deckhouse, dry and current
- officers able to explain fire sections, ventilation shut-offs and access routes from it
Common findings
- Fire control plan not updated after modification of accommodation
- Location of portable fire extinguishers not as shown on fire control plan
- Fire control plan in weathertight enclosure missing / outdated revision
- Enclosure for fire control plan not weathertight, plan wet and illegible
- Ventilation fan identification numbers on plan do not match fans on board
- Officers not familiar with fire control plan
The rule behind it
SOLAS chapter II-2, regulation 15.2.4 requires fire control plans, or booklets, to be kept up to date with alterations recorded as soon as practicable. It also requires a duplicate set permanently stored in a marked weathertight enclosure outside the deckhouse for shore-side fire fighters. The graphical symbols for these plans are in IMO resolution A.952(23). The IMO port State control procedures, A.1185(33), describe in appendix 7 how officers' familiarity with the plan is tested.
Action codes you are likely to see
Small errors the crew can amend before the inspector leaves are often 10. Missing copies, an enclosure that lets water in, or a plan that needs to be redrawn usually get 17, or 16 where a revised plan has to go to the flag or class first. The SOLAS section of the IMO list of detainable deficiencies includes serious deficiencies in the operational requirements of appendix 7, which covers officers' familiarity with the fire control plan. A missing or badly wrong plan isn't named on the list, though the officer may treat a serious case as a ground for detention (30). See action taken codes.
How to close it
Walk the ship with the plan and list every difference. The office revises the plan and sends it to class or the flag where approval is needed. Replace every copy, the set in the enclosure included, and renew the enclosure if it leaks. Run a fire drill where the officers use the plan. Keep the revised plan, any approval letter and photos of the updated enclosure with the Form B. Related: fire detection and alarm system and fire dampers.