Fire in the engine room
- Safety Flash
- Published on 1 June 2020
- Generated on 18 September 2025
- IMCA SF 17/20
- 2 minute read
What happened?
A vessel suffered a fire in the engine room. The incident occurred after the vessel was leaving port during the hours of darkness in calm weather.
The vessel was making around 5-6 knots, when the fire panel indicated fire on one of the diesel generators. Flames and smoke were visible in the engine room.
A second generator started automatically after 20 sec. The crew were all mustered safely.
The Flexifog fire extinguisher system was released in the engine room.
Two minutes later a firefighting team entered the engine room, at which time flames and smoke were still visible. After six minutes the fire was extinguished by a combination of firefighting team and the Flexifog system.
The vessel maintained its position and all personnel evacuated to deck. There were no injuries. The generator that caught fire suffered significant damage.
What went wrong?
Bearing failure in engine.
What were the causes?
Investigation showed that the failures could not have been related to lack of maintenance.
There was a suspected potential fault in engine components which were replaced during the recent engine overhaul.
Lessons learned
The key learning was that the Flexifog fire extinguisher system and the well-drilled fire-fighting team prevented escalation to a potential critical situation.
Several actions were taken by the marine crew to avoid the fire spreading on the vessel.
Our Member’s client was impressed with the professional way in which the marine crew handled the situation.
Actions
To prevent potential fire spreading – make sure that the marine crew:
- is drilled in emergency training.
- is familiar with the vessel and the fire shut down mechanisms.
- has a water mist system – this can be crucial to avoid the fire spreading.
Related Safety Flashes
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IMCA SF 35/16
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IMCA SF 10/14
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