Inland Waters Small Passenger Boat Code

14        FIRE SAFETY

14.1 Machinery compartment boundaries should be of an adequate standard, such that a fire fighting medium released or injected into the compartment can be retained sufficiently to extinguish a fire.

14.2 Sound proofing insulation within the machinery compartment should be non-combustible (not readily ignitable can be accepted in existing vessels) and be impervious to impregnation by oil or oil vapour.

14.3 Suitable means are to be provided so that a machinery compartment may be kept clean, and able to contain any oil spillage for discharge to a disposal facility ashore. Oily water should not be discharged overboard.  

14.4 LPG installations should comply with ISO 10239: Small Craft – Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) systems or BS 5482-3 Domestic Butane and Propane gas burning installations in boats, yachts and other vessels, (obsolete but still in use within BSS and UK generally).  Installations should be inspected annually by a competent person, as defined under The Gas Safety Installations and Use Regulations (GSIUR).

14.5 It is recommended that fire resistant or fire retardant materials are used for furnishings and fittings.

14.6  On any vessel, where an area is identified as posing a fire risk to either passengers or crew (e.g. galleys, sleeping accommodation), fire detection equipment shall be installed to protect that area.

14.7 The fire detectors should be appropriate to the hazard identified (generally smoke detectors) and should give an audible warning that can be heard in the space concerned and in the control position when the vessel is in operation.

14.8     Means of Escape

14.8.1 The means of escape should be such that a single hazardous event will not cut off all possible escape routes.  Two means of escape should be provided in:  

            1.         each compartment used for sleeping or rest; and
           2.         other compartments used for accommodation affected by a fire risk, and
            3.         machinery spaces affected by a fire risk except:

a)         those spaces visited only occasionally , and where the single access gives ready escape, at all times, in the event of fire; or
b)         those spaces where any person entering and moving about the space is within 5 metres of the single entrance, at all times.

14.8.2 In existing vessels which have only a single means of escape from accommodation spaces, efficient fire detectors should be provided as necessary to give early warning of a fire emergency that could cut off that single means of escape.

14.8.3 A vessel should be provided with an efficient escape route or routes, taking into account the passengers to be carried and any restrictions on use of the routes.