tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-789080065504006399.post4520079616123702004..comments2024-02-06T09:56:14.540+02:00Comments on Waratah Revisited: BALLAST TANKS.ANDREW VAN RENSBURGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03632303307052209160noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-789080065504006399.post-56828160811632237302015-11-06T12:56:02.495+02:002015-11-06T12:56:02.495+02:00Hi Stuart. As far as I am aware, according to the ...Hi Stuart. As far as I am aware, according to the Merchant Shipping Act of 1894, (2) A sea-going passenger steamer shall be provided with a hose capable of being connected with the engines of the steamer, and adapted for extinguishing fire in any part of the steamer. This basic system certainly had limitations, water not always being the solution to the problem; flooding of compartments leading to destabilization etc.. Annie Boyd, in her exceptional volume, 'Koombana Days', presented another option, not included in the above Act's regulations:<br /><br />'The Clayton’s system consisted mainly of a combustion chamber and a large fan. In the combustion chamber, rolled sheets of sulphur, placed on trays, were ignited to produce a large volume of sulphur dioxide gas which was then forced into the sealed hold to starve the fire of oxygen. For most fires the method was extremely effective. If time were allowed for the hold to cool before fresh air was admitted, total extinguishment was the usual result. But spontaneous combustion in wool or fodder was notoriously difficult to extinguish, because the seat of the fire was hidden somewhere within a steaming, smoking mass. The problem for the Clayton’s apparatus, or for any system that relied upon a retardant gas, was that the gas did not always penetrate to where it was most needed. Naked flames on the outside of a wool bale would be quickly suppressed, while the glowing source remained hidden and insulated, like the buried ashes of a camp fire. After ordering the system activated, Rees allowed it to run continuously for thirty hours before opening the hold to check the results. As fresh air flowed in, the fire quickly re-established itself. He ordered the hold resealed and the process begun again.'<br /><br />The Koombana, by the way, was built across the Clyde River from the Waratah, 1908. <br /><br />Thanks for the info on the Imperator, 1913. AndrewANDREW VAN RENSBURGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03632303307052209160noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-789080065504006399.post-92105017543196790772015-11-06T10:31:15.241+02:002015-11-06T10:31:15.241+02:00What were the regulations regarding fire fighting ...What were the regulations regarding fire fighting equipment aboard ships in 1909? With all those wooden fittings and panelling especially in first and second class ships in that period must have been fire traps. The earliest reference to a shipboard sprinkler system I have heard of was one fitted to the HAPAG lines Imperator in 1913 due some fires breaking out in the first few months of operation. <br /> Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09776342572691773762noreply@blogger.com