What the examiner is really probing
The examiner wants to confirm you can run a vessel's fixed and portable fire systems, keep them legally compliant, and integrate passive fire protection — dampers, doors, screens — into an actual fire response. A watchkeeper lists equipment; a Master explains the system, owns its maintenance regime, and makes command decisions when it fails or is degraded.
Portable firefighting equipment
Extinguishers must be appropriate to the fire risk in each space. Know the agents carried: CO₂ (electrical, machinery), dry powder (multi-purpose, but leaves contamination), foam (Class B liquid fires). Siting follows the Red Ensign Group Yacht Code (REG YC Part A, which superseded LY3), which draws on SOLAS II-2 and the HSC Code principles scaled to yacht size.
Maintenance: annual inspection by a competent person; periodic overhaul and hydraulic testing at intervals set by the manufacturer (typically every 5 years for overhaul, longer for hydrostatic test — verify the specific intervals in your vessel's SMS and the manufacturer's data sheet). Records in the SMS/maintenance log.
Fixed suppression systems
Machinery spaces commonly use CO₂ total-flood or high-pressure water mist systems. As Master you must know:
- The manual release procedure for every fixed system on board and where controls are located.
- Pre-discharge alarms and time delays — crew must be confirmed clear before release.
- CO₂ systems: close all ventilation, dampers, and skylights before discharge; never re-enter until the space has been thoroughly ventilated and O₂ reading confirms 20.9%.
- Inspection and hydrostatic testing of CO₂ cylinders follows flag state/manufacturer schedule (confirm specific intervals against your SMS).
Fire detection and alarm
Detectors (smoke, heat, flame) form the first line of defence. The system must be tested regularly; test records kept. Isolating a detector loop for maintenance must be logged and risk-assessed; the SMS should require compensatory measures (additional rounds, temporary watch).
Dampers, fire doors and A/B-class divisions
Passive protection is often the margin between a contained fire and a catastrophe.
- Ventilation dampers: must close rapidly and positively from a remote position as well as locally. Check for free operation regularly; they must not be wedged open.
- Fire doors: self-closing, correctly rated for the division (A-class or B-class). Held-open devices must release automatically on alarm. Never disable the self-closing mechanism.
- A-class divisions: structural fire protection, steel construction, insulated to prevent temperature rise on the unexposed face beyond limits for the required time rating.
- Fire dampers and doors in use during a fire: close all before fighting a space fire to prevent spread; confirm closed before applying any agent to a closed-space fire.
Structuring your spoken answer
Lead with the principle: passive protection first, detection next, then suppression. State you know the location and function of every system on your vessel, you own the maintenance schedule through the SMS, and in a fire you integrate all three layers — close the boundaries, confirm the space, apply the agent. Give a specific example from your vessel's arrangement if asked.