We’re all aware of the possibility of a fire on our boat. But I know from my own experience, and that of most of my friends, we tend to put that possibility in the back of our minds. Yes, we have enough extinguishers; yes, we check them periodically, and yes, we tell our family or crew where they are and how to use them. But that’s clearly not enough.
Because fires are much worse than we think they are. They spread faster. They often cut off escape routes. They can be explosive. All this is spelled out in a great video and report from the BoatU.S. Foundation. It’s graphic and it’s sobering.
The good news is that there a lot you can do, other than checking the extinguishers, to protect yourself in advance. Actually hold a drill with your crew; make sure you have a handheld VHF with DSC and its red distress button; plan escape routes from various parts of the boat.
Take a look here, and then apply the lessons learned to your own boat: /http://www.boatus.org/findings/55
