Failure of fixed high expansion foam
- Safety Flash
- Published on 14 July 2010
- Generated on 22 December 2025
- IMCA SF 04/10
- 1 minute read
The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has published the enclosed safety flash regarding the failure of a fixed high expansion foam system to extinguish a fire on board a passenger ferry.
What happened?
As part of the fire-fighting effort, the fixed total flooding system (high expansion foam) was activated but did not extinguish the fire. Although all of the foam solution in the system was deployed into the auxiliary engine room, no foam was produced. The fire burned fiercely for over one hour before it was extinguished by the ship’s crew. There were no injuries.
The full report may be viewed here.
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