Safety Equipment, Fire Protection and LSA: Divisions, Fixed Systems and Servicing Cycles
This domain tests two linked systems: passive and active fire protection under SOLAS II-2, and life-saving appliances under SOLAS III and the LSA Code. Questions tend to be specific: what class of division a boundary needs, how much extinguishing medium a space requires, what interval governs servicing, and what the drill record must show.
Fire integrity
A-class divisions are steel or equivalent, suitably stiffened, insulated to a stated time (A-60, A-30, A-15, A-0) and prevent smoke and flame for one hour. B-class divisions are non-combustible, and B-15 and B-0 differ only in insulation rating; B-class need not be steel. C-class divisions meet no smoke or flame criteria. The fire integrity tables in II-2 Regulation 9 fix the boundary rating by space category, so the question is usually about identifying the adjacent spaces.
Fixed systems and pumps
Machinery space CO2 quantity is the greater of 40 per cent of the gross volume of the space excluding the casing, or 35 per cent including the casing, converted to mass using the free-gas figure. Cargo spaces require a lower percentage. Two independently driven fire pumps are required, with each pump sized as a proportion of the total, and the fire main must hold pressure at the required number of jets.
Life-saving appliances
Lifejackets are provided for every person plus additional sets for watchkeepers, with extra allowance for passenger ships. Davit-launched liferafts, lifeboats and rescue boats are subject to servicing and drill cycles: abandon-ship and fire drills monthly, with a drill within 24 hours of leaving port if more than 25 per cent of the crew has changed. Lifeboat falls are turned end for end at intervals not exceeding 30 months and renewed at not more than five years. Inflatable liferafts are serviced annually unless an approved extended interval applies. Emergency escape breathing devices are for escape only, not firefighting.
Worked example
A machinery space measures 3,600 m^3 excluding the casing and 4,000 m^3 including it. Excluding the casing: 40 per cent x 3,600 = 1,440 m^3 of free CO2. Including the casing: 35 per cent x 4,000 = 1,400 m^3. The greater is 1,440 m^3, which at 0.56 m^3/kg gives about 2,570 kg of CO2.
Traps
Assuming A-0 is superior to B-15; forgetting to take the greater of the two CO2 cases; treating EEBDs as firefighting breathing apparatus; missing the 24-hour drill rule after a large crew change.