PSC deficiency code 07108: Ready availability of fire fighting equipment
Area 07 Fire safety
Code 07108 is about access and readiness. If a hydrant is boxed in by stores or the fire locker key is in someone's drawer, the crew loses minutes when a fire starts, however good the equipment is. The inspector writing this code doubts that the gear could be in someone's hands, with water behind it, as soon as the alarm sounds.
What the inspector looks at
Most of this is seen on the walk round, with the fire control plan in mind.
- Hydrants and hose boxes free of cargo, stores, lashing gear and mooring ropes, with room to connect and run out a hose
- Hoses and nozzles actually at the stations shown on the fire control plan
- Fire lockers and firefighter's outfit stations unlocked, or with the key kept at the door in a break-glass box
- Fire main isolating valves in the position the ship's procedure says, and water available at the hydrants when tried
- Extinguishers on their brackets, visible and not hidden behind doors, equipment or garbage bins
Common findings
- Fire hydrant on main deck obstructed by stores and mooring ropes
- Fire hose box empty, hose and nozzle missing
- Fire locker locked, key not available
- Fire main isolating valve to accommodation closed without reason
- No water at hydrant when tested
- Fire extinguisher in engine room workshop removed from its position
- Fire main drained for frost protection, no procedure for recharging
The rule behind it
SOLAS Chapter II-2, Regulation 14 requires fire protection systems and fire fighting appliances to be kept in good order and ready for immediate use while the ship is in service. Regulation 10 of the same chapter covers the fire main, hydrants, hoses and extinguishers, including how quickly water must be available from the fire main. The positions the inspector checks against come from the ship's fire control plan.
Action codes you are likely to see
An obstruction cleared or a locker opened while the inspector waits is usually 10. Missing hoses or nozzles that have to come from the store or a supplier often get 17. When the fire main can't deliver water, or many stations are blocked or empty at once, the inspector may judge the fire fighting equipment unable to serve its purpose; the IMO list of detainable deficiencies gives that as an example, so 30 is possible. See action taken codes.
How to close it
The chief officer clears the deck stations and the chief engineer the machinery spaces, then they walk the fire control plan together. Restore missing hoses and nozzles from spares. Put locker keys in break-glass boxes or leave the lockers unlocked. Keep photos of cleared stations, the updated inventory and a record of the hydrant test with the Form B. The gear itself is covered under fire fighting equipment and appliances, and pressure at the hydrant under fire pumps and its pipes.