Integrated tool quantifies fire risk on ships
Despite the considerable amount of human and financial resources that are invested in gaining an understanding and producing preventative measures for the outbreak of fires and respective shipping accidents, great losses continue to occur both in terms of human life and goods. In this context, the PHOENIX project has developed an integrated tool to identify and analyse fire risk on board, simulate fire propagation, as well as to provide preventive policies. This includes a large model database of valuable statistics on information regarding the outbreak of the fire, which allowed the development of useful relationships between the different fire accident variables and different sources. A fire simulation model has also been developed, including all aspects of safety on board, from materials, to alarms and escape means. Quantification of the corresponding risk factor is compiled in the “HCFIRE – Fire risk Spreadsheet”, in order to allow the user to identify deviations in fulfilment of the above and apply preventive policies. Two further computer programs, developed in the form of checklists, provide information on prevention and control of fire on board, as well as information on the major causes of fire, negative influences and fighting efficiency. The main advantage of the developed program is that it can be applied globally on board situations, whereas the evaluation method complies with criteria used in other industrial fields as well. Other major advantages include the fact that it can be implemented by inspectors, as well as non-specially trained personnel, while it can also be implemented on paper as well as on a portable computer. Eventually, such a method can represent the establishment of new criteria for the creation of an international database, where the contents and the criteria can be updated accordingly.