Fire Drill
SS Petersburg
The ho-hum life of sitting alongside a pier and ,basically, awaiting orders is just fine with most, onboard the Petersburg! Standing an eight-hour watch and then doing some preventative maintainance during off-hours leads to somewhat of a productive day for me, as well. The time goes by smoothly and quickly and hours spent making ’rounds’ and tending to small chores makes for a safe ship.
Well, we’ve had our second Fire Drill and Boat Drill on Wednesday,and each time, we simulate a
fire in a region of the ship that offers some challenges and lower the lifeboats that are usually poised on either side of the “after-part” (or furthest towards the back) of the ship.
Each Fire Team has a couple of crewmembers that suit up in those cumbersome grey-with-reflective-taped outfits that you see firefighters donn. This time, a simulated fire was raging in the Engine Room and all hands were called to assist with firehoses and other gear. Remember, this is only a Drill!!
At sea, mariners are self-sufficient, and have all the required equipment to put out a fire, as it may not be practical for a shoreside firestation to assist.
In addition, lowering the eighty-person enclosed lifeboats happen each week. There are certain steps required to make ready the lifeboat for lowering. And the repetitiveness of such activity engrains a duty in each of the crewmember’s subconcious minds.
What I’ve noticed, continues to please me…
Each of the thirty-five crew instinctively know their duties of such drills, and all the actions to a task, somehow work, in unison.
And every week, the drills take place at a given time- usually posted in conspicuous places around the messes and passageways on the previous day, so the crew can prepare mentally. I think it is more of a nuisance and the dread that drills take place, but usually, the time goes by with much learned. AND mistakes are presented and discussed to improve at the the next drill.
One final note. I learned a couple of things good and bad regarding my Alma Mater, the California Maritime Academy, located near San Francisco,California.
Upon reviewing the csum website, which you can track the movement of the Training Ship GOLDEN BEAR I got some good and not-so-good news regarding the training ship.
Well, The good news is; the training ship will be calling port in Guam, on Sunday! It is finishing its two month voyage around the Pacific and visiting ports, along the way. Guam is the second-to-last port before switching out its cadets for a second ‘cruise’ and then the ship continues its voyage with a new set of students. I hope to be able to watch it, as it docks nearby my ship!
The sad part…I found the unexpected news, while reading the website, of a cadet who had died while taking a hike during the ship’s port stay in Vietnam!! The cadet was hiking with some other members, ashore, and wandered away from the group- accidentally falling down a steep ravine. He was found after a lengthy search. The news spread quickly to local news stations within the San Francisco Bay Area yet the ship will continue on with the rest of its voyage. Although I do not know the student, any tragedy ‘at sea’ affects fellow mariners, personally.
-Nadir
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