Fire safety boost for big ships
Modern passenger ships are now capable of hosting more than 8 000 people, i.e. as much as a small town, prompting the need to develop more efficient safety systems. The EU-funded project 'Probabilistic framework for onboard fire-safety' (FIREPROOF) aimed to upgrade maritime fire safety in light of these new developments. The project worked on devising a universally applicable regulatory framework for fire safety in passenger ships based on a probabilistic model for ignition and generation of fire scenarios. Its main aim was to reduce risk to passengers and crew by devising strict fire safety regulations supported by smart probabilistic scenarios. To achieve its aims, project partners developed different fire scenarios complete with estimated probabilities of injuries and fatalities. They looked at the detection, containment and suppression of fires that break out, as well as building a database for details of fire incidents. Subsequently, the team assessed these sophisticated fire scenarios to predict injury, incapacitation and death based on the exposure to toxic fire products such as carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide. With the size of ships likely to increase, the research undertaken in this project will be crucial to raising safety standards. This is particularly important since large vessels bring with them a whole new set of safety requirements and must address tougher legislative demands. The development of new regulations will be crucial for the safety of larger vessels and for improved sustainability of the maritime sector.
