Safety, Fire & Survival · Fire — Boundary Cooling
While a fire burns in a compartment, why do crews apply water to the bulkheads and decks of adjacent spaces ('boundary cooling')?
- ATo extinguish the fire directly through the steel
- BTo keep adjacent boundaries cool and prevent the fire from spreading by conduction and igniting contents next door✓ Correct
- CTo raise the humidity in the burning space
- DTo create steam that feeds the fire
Explanation
Steel conducts heat efficiently, so an unfought fire can ignite combustibles in neighboring compartments. Boundary cooling — playing water on the far side of bulkheads and decks — limits heat transfer and prevents the fire from spreading while the seat of the fire is attacked.
Authority: SOLAS II-2; shipboard firefighting doctrine
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