Fire on the flight deck

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dlr110
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Fire on the flight deck

Post by dlr110 »

If you are going to be on an aviation capable ship most crewmen have to go through fight deck firefighting. This class wasn’t as long as regular firefighting was, but just as important. On our final day we all gathered out by the fire pit where they had a make believe bomb in the middle of it. I think we had a couple of four or five men teams on the hose and this time I was just a handler. Also it was that time of the year when Chief Petty Officer selectees are going through their hazing and initiation time. Well we had one in our class and the instructors made him our EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) person. It would be his responsibility to declare the weapon (bomb) cold or safe after we put out the fire and cooled the weapon down.

The stage was set, the fire was set in the pit, and the hose team was called in. We ran in manned the hose and it was then charged (water turned on) and the instructor ordered the nozzle man “water on” and with that we put a steady stream of water from a two and half inch hose on the fire. It only took a couple of minutes or less to put out the fire, but we continued to put water on the weapon in order to simulate cooling it down.

Soon the instructor called “water off, EOD in” and with that the nozzle man turned the water off and the EOD person ran in and waved the back of his hand over the surface of the weapon. He then pronounced the weapon safe by yelling “sir, EOD the weapon is cold.” Without blinking or a moment of hesitation the instructor yelled back “negative, the weapon is HOT, water on” and with the same speed the nozzle man went full on with a stream of water on the weapon and the EOD person. This same routine went on for a few more rounds and finally a very wet and cold EOD person went in and this time he yelled “sir, EOD the blank, blank weapon is cold AND SO AM I!” All of the instructors and the hose team started laughing and the instructors didn’t have the heart to continue any longer, so the exercise was declared a success and class was adjourned.
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David R (United States Navy Retired)
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1967redrider
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Re: Fire on the flight deck

Post by 1967redrider »

I think this video is relevant, thank God for the brave heros who fought for our freedom. 🇺🇸

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You're going to look awfully silly with that knife sticking out of your @#$. -Clint Eastwood, High Plains Drifter
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fergusontd
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Re: Fire on the flight deck

Post by fergusontd »

dlr110 wrote: Tue Jun 29, 2021 9:35 pm If you are going to be on an aviation capable ship most crewmen have to go through fight deck firefighting. This class wasn’t as long as regular firefighting was, but just as important. On our final day we all gathered out by the fire pit where they had a make believe bomb in the middle of it. I think we had a couple of four or five men teams on the hose and this time I was just a handler. Also it was that time of the year when Chief Petty Officer selectees are going through their hazing and initiation time. Well we had one in our class and the instructors made him our EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) person. It would be his responsibility to declare the weapon (bomb) cold or safe after we put out the fire and cooled the weapon down.

The stage was set, the fire was set in the pit, and the hose team was called in. We ran in manned the hose and it was then charged (water turned on) and the instructor ordered the nozzle man “water on” and with that we put a steady stream of water from a two and half inch hose on the fire. It only took a couple of minutes or less to put out the fire, but we continued to put water on the weapon in order to simulate cooling it down.

Soon the instructor called “water off, EOD in” and with that the nozzle man turned the water off and the EOD person ran in and waved the back of his hand over the surface of the weapon. He then pronounced the weapon safe by yelling “sir, EOD the weapon is cold.” Without blinking or a moment of hesitation the instructor yelled back “negative, the weapon is HOT, water on” and with the same speed the nozzle man went full on with a stream of water on the weapon and the EOD person. This same routine went on for a few more rounds and finally a very wet and cold EOD person went in and this time he yelled “sir, EOD the blank, blank weapon is cold AND SO AM I!” All of the instructors and the hose team started laughing and the instructors didn’t have the heart to continue any longer, so the exercise was declared a success and class was adjourned.
::tu:: Came in handy on the Forestall '67, the Oriskany and the Enterprise '70, during Vietnam. I went thru fire fighting school at Great Lakes and San Diego in '68 and '70. ftd
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Dinadan
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Re: Fire on the flight deck

Post by Dinadan »

Cool story, David.

When I was on the USS San Diego in 1975 in the Mediterranean we had a flight deck fire drill. We were a supply ship with a small hanger at the stern for our two helicopters. Aft of that was the flight deck where the helicopters would take off and land. There were built in sprinkler systems for the deck and the hanger. The sprinklers were controlled from a tiny compartment off the hanger. Basically a four foot by ten foot cubby with just a pair of control switches on one wall. Clearly labeled switches! Well, they put the helicopters inside the hanger and mostly shut the doors. The captain and other officers stood inside the hanger and observed. They put an E3 in the cubby to operate the control. (A good friend of mine.) Fortunately I was not involved in the drill.

Well, when everything was ready to test the flight deck sprinklers the order was passed to the E3 to turn on the deck sprinklers. He flipped the switch ... nothing happened. The order was repeated, more emphatically. So he flipped the switch off and then on again ... nothing. A couple of more times and the order was pretty much screamed to "Turn on the g-------d sprinkler!" and this point, the E3, who was about 19, panicked. Since the fight deck switch was not working, he flipped the hanger switch. The sprinkler in the hanger worked to perfection. The captain and other officers were totally drenched, and two helicopters were basically ruined. They had to be sent back to the USA to replace all electronics, if I remember correctly. Turned out the flight deck control switch did not work. Since testing that system was the whole point of the exercise, perhaps they should have had a chief doing the operating. My friend the E3 did not suffer any adverse consequences, but he was very worried for a while!
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Dan In MI
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Re: Fire on the flight deck

Post by Dan In MI »

Sometime during the course of my enlistment (probably in 2004), a battle group was getting ready to deploy. I was among a small group from USS Peleliu who were sent to the next pier down so another ship could practice dealing with a mob of protesters. I had no idea what this entailed, so I played the role of protester along with the others...and we were soon sprayed down with firemain! Firemain is the main source of water for firefighting; it comes out of a 2.5" hose at 210 PSi. It doesn't feel good when the nozzle is set to a narrow stream and one is hit with it. I recall going back to Peleliu thoroughly soaked and a little upset. Never mind that the salt water ruined my boots!

I can certainly understand why that CPO selectee wasn't amused. And that was not the worst experience I had with firemain...but that's another story for another time.
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