PSC deficiency code 07115: Fire-dampers
Area 07 Fire safety
Fire dampers close ventilation ducts and openings so a fire can't spread through them and so a fixed gas system can hold its concentration. This code covers dampers in accommodation and machinery space ventilation, the galley exhaust duct and the closing flaps on engine room openings. They sit outside on deck in salt air, so they seize quietly unless someone works them.
What the inspector looks at
The inspector usually asks a crew member to close a few dampers and watches.
- Does the damper close fully and open again by hand or from its remote control?
- Is the open and closed position clearly marked on the operating handle or lever?
- Is the damper and its operating gear free of corrosion, paint build-up and broken linkages?
- On automatic dampers, is the fusible link intact and unpainted?
- In the galley exhaust duct, is the damper free of grease and is the grease trap clean?
- Are flame screens and weather covers on ventilation openings intact?
- Are damper tests recorded in the maintenance plan?
Common findings
- Fire damper seized in open position
- Engine room ventilation fire flap cannot be closed
- Fire damper open/closed indication missing
- Fusible link painted over / missing
- Galley exhaust duct fire damper clogged with grease
- Damper flap holed by corrosion
- Operating handle missing or linkage broken
The rule behind it
SOLAS Chapter II-2, Regulation 9 (containment of fire) covers ventilation systems, including fire dampers in ducts that pass through fire-resisting divisions and in galley exhaust ducts. Regulation 5 (fire growth potential) requires means to close ventilation openings and stop the air supply to spaces. SOLAS II-2 Regulation 14 requires dampers, like all fire protection systems, to be maintained under the maintenance plan.
Action codes you are likely to see
A damper freed and greased during the inspection may get 10. A seized damper that needs parts is usually 17, since a space that can't be closed off would also defeat its fixed fire extinguishing system. Fire dampers are among the areas the IMO port State control procedures list as examples of possible detention, so several dampers that don't close, especially on engine room ventilation, can lead to 30. See action taken codes.
How to close it
Free, clean and grease the damper, replace corroded flaps, pins and linkages, and fit new fusible links where they were painted or missing. Paint or engrave clear open and closed marks. Then test every damper in the system, not only the one named on the Form B, because the next inspector may try the others. Record the test in the planned maintenance system, keep photos of the repaired dampers with the Form B and add the dampers to a routine operating schedule. The same walk round is a good time to check fire doors in the same boundaries.