Many shortcomings in fire prevention work on fishing boats

Fishermen left empty-handed when "fire lady visits"

At 8:00 p.m. on October 9, 2020, while anchored at Lach Quen fishing port (Quynh Thuan - Quynh Luu), the fishing boat NA-95003-TS with a capacity of 350CV of Mr. Ho Van Tam residing in Hamlet 5, Son Hai commune caught fire. Because at that time there was no one watching the boat, when the fire broke out combined with strong winds, the fire spread to 3 boats anchored nearby, including: Boat NA-93031-TS of Mr. Tran Xuan Ngoc, residing in Hamlet 5, Son Hai commune; boat NA-95095-TS of Mr. Dau Hai Tinh, residing in Hamlet 4, Son Hai commune; boat NA-99985-TS of Mr. Pham Van Tuan, residing in Quynh Tho commune.

Although the authorities mobilized 6 fire trucks and hundreds of people to put out the fire, due to the thousands of liters of oil and flammable objects on board, the 4 ships were completely burned and could not be repaired, with a total loss of up to 8 billion VND.

Until now, Mr. Tran Xuan Ngoc's family is still in shock when his family's major business, a 4-pole fishing boat with a capacity of 380CV, burned down on the night of October 9, 2020.

Image of the fire of 4 fishing boats on the night of October 9, 2020 at Lach Quen (Quynh Luu). Photo: Viet Hung Document

Mr. Ngoc recounted that at that time, after several days of avoiding the cold air, his family's boat started to pour oil and move ice into the hold to prepare for the trip to sea, but unfortunately caught fire. The boat was anchored atLach Quen port, while Mr. Ngoc's house in Son Hai, more than 6 kilometers away, when he heard the news, ran out but the fire was too big, combined with the strong wind blowing so the ship could not be saved.

In addition to the ship damage of more than 2 billion VND, there were also more than 7,000 liters of oil that had just been filled.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong, Mr. Ngoc's wife, was heartbroken: That ship was the family's business, we had to work very hard to borrow and build it but lost everything. Because this ship had no contributors, when the cost of damage fell on the family, the debt to build the ship had not been paid off yet, the interest was compounded.

Due to strong winds, combined with the amount of oil on the large ships, the fire broke out fiercely, causing damage to the ship owners of more than 8 billion VND. Photo: Viet Hung Document

For fishermen in coastal districts, fishing boats are a valuable asset, especially thoseoffshore fishingwith a capacity of 100CV or more, each boat is worth billions of dong. Most of the people build boats with capital borrowed from banks, credit funds or from family members and relatives. Therefore, if a fire unfortunately occurs, it will not only cause great damage to property but also lead to debt for fishermen.

What is the cause?

In Quynh Luu, after the fire of 4 fishing boats on October 9, 2020, the district equipped 4 communes of Tien Thuy, Quynh Thuan, Son Hai, Quynh Nghia, each commune with 2 pumps and some auxiliary equipment. In addition, in each commune, a Steering Committee for Fire Prevention and Fighting on Fishing Boats was established...

Mr. Cao Xuan Diep - Chairman of People's CommitteeSon Hai commune(Quynh Luu) said: The biggest difficulty in Son Hai at present is that the boat anchorage is far from the fishermen's houses. The whole commune has 159 boats, of which 140 are offshore fishing boats with poles longer than 15m. The closest point from Son Hai to the anchorage in Lach Quen is also 3km away; every time the boats return to dock, they are often tied together and many houses arrange for one person to look after them, so when an incident occurs, it is very difficult to react in time.

There is no place to anchor boats so they have to park close together. When the water rises, the boats can be easily stacked, but when the water goes down, they cannot be pulled out. If a fire breaks out, all they can do is watch the boat burn and spread, there is no way to save it.

Many boat owners have also equipped themselves with fire extinguishers, but some have expired and fishermen do not even know how to use them. Photo: Tien Dong

Mr. Tran Van Long - a fisherman in Quyet Thang hamlet (Dien Bich - Dien Chau), who has a 350CV fishing boat, said: He and his family and the crew members on his boat are always aware that if a fire breaks out on the boat, it will only be a total loss and cannot be saved. Therefore, he has also equipped the boat with fire extinguishers and other protective equipment. However, because the fishing boat is built of wood, and there is oil and many light materials on board such as fishing gear, foam, gas cylinders for cooking, etc., it is very difficult to prevent and extinguish fires.

The risks and consequences of fishing boat fires are obvious, however, for a long time, ensuringfire protection workIn many places, the focus has been on educating and reminding people to equip themselves with fire-fighting equipment, but there are no fire protection systems installed at anchorages. With fishing boats with high capacity and large amounts of oil, once a fire breaks out, hand-held fire extinguishers cannot control it.

Many fishing boats can anchor close together when the tide is high, but when the water recedes, it is difficult to pull the boats out. If a fire breaks out, all we can do is watch the fire spread. Photo: Tien Dong

Mr. Nguyen Viet Man - Chairman of Dien Bich Commune People's Committee said: Dien Bich Commune currently has about 200 boats of all kinds. After returning from fishing, fishermen's boats are often anchored along Lach Van. The locality has also established propaganda teams, regularly reminding vehicle owners to ensure fire prevention and fighting equipment and means; when using electricity, oil, gas stoves on boats, it is necessary to strictly comply with regulations to avoid the risk of fire and explosion. However, large fire prevention and fighting equipment such as high-capacity pumps, sand piles... to be arranged along the mooring areas of boats are not available.

According to our research, one of the biggest difficulties in fire prevention and fighting on fishing boats is that fishing boats are often built of wood, and contain many flammable substances such as oil, gas cylinders, plastic cans, foam, etc. The electrical system on the boat is extremely important, but it is arranged in a complex manner and is not carefully checked, so it is very easy to cause electrical short circuits leading to fires and explosions.

Because fishing boats are often used for many years in harsh sea winds, the electrical system and machinery quickly deteriorate, easily causing short circuits and fires. Photo: Tien Dong

Not to mention that many fishing boat owners do not pay attention to purchasing fire prevention equipment, or have fire extinguishers but they are expired, and even the crew members do not know how to use them. Some boats are equipped but in a perfunctory manner. On many boats, the cooking area is not arranged separately, but is placed close to areas prone to fire and explosion. The use of electricity, gas, and gasoline is also very arbitrary, not following the correct procedures, so it is very easy to cause fire and explosion.

These are the shortcomings in the work of preventing and fighting fires and explosions on fishing boats that need to be promptly resolved...