Capt. Kirby Dupuis docked after the engine room fireplace fireplace. (Source: NTSB)
A lacking retaining ring and mounting bracket on the port foremost diesel engine led to an engineroom fireplace on a towboat close to Belleview, Ky., the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) says.
The towing vessel Capt. Kirby Dupuis was pushing loaded dry cargo barges on the Ohio River when a hearth broke out on its portside engine on November 9, 2021. The crewmembers fought the fireplace utilizing transportable extinguishers and tried to activate the vessel’s fastened fire-extinguishing system. The fireplace was ultimately extinguished by native firefighters. No air pollution or accidents to the six-person crew had been reported.
The vessel sustained an estimated $1.8 million in damages. Contributing to the severity of the injury, says the NTSB, was the crew’s unfamiliarity with activation procedures for the fastened fire-extinguishing system, which resulted in an unsuccessful try and launch the fireplace suppression fluid and extinguish the fireplace.
MISSING PARTS
Following the fireplace, NTSB investigators reviewed the vessel’s video system which confirmed lube oil spraying inboard from the port foremost engine. About 10 seconds later, a flame was seen on the prime of the ahead a part of the engine. An inspection of the engine discovered a damaged O-ring and the retaining ring lacking from the place the tube related to the lube oil filter housing. Additionally, supporting clips and mounting {hardware} for the lube oil tube had been lacking on the port foremost engine within the mid-section space, and the bolt that had held the supporting clips gave the impression to be sheared. It is just not identified how lengthy the supporting clips and {hardware} had been lacking from the engine. The final main work on the engine, a prime finish overhaul, was in May 2018.
The crew tried to make use of the fastened fire-extinguishing system for the engineroom, nevertheless investigators decided the system was not activated throughout the fireplace. One of the 2 levers required to activate the system was not totally prolonged. As a consequence, the nitrogen gasoline from the pilot cylinder didn’t discharge. Although the crew drilled usually, not one of the drills included coaching on the fastened fire-extinguishing system. The proprietor of the vessel is at present growing a coaching video on the fastened fire-extinguishing system, which is able to grow to be required coaching for his or her crews.
The NTSB decided the possible explanation for the engineroom fireplace was a lube oil tube on the port foremost engine that vibrated out of a joint because of a lacking retaining ring and mounting bracket. It sprayed pressurized oil that made contact with a sizzling exhaust floor and ignited.
Contributing to the severity of the fireplace injury was the crew’s unfamiliarity with activation procedures for the fastened fire-extinguishing system, which resulted in an unsuccessful try and launch the fireplace suppression fluid and extinguish the fireplace.
“The small confines of the engineroom space and the location of fire equipment within that same space demonstrate a risk to crews fighting engine room fires,” the report stated. “On towing vessels, the risk to crews fighting engine room fires has led to the development of designs that incorporate both a means for securing ventilation to the engine room and a fire-extinguishing system to extinguish the fire without requiring crews to enter the space. Crewmembers should train for engineroom fires and review extinguishing system instructions. Training drills should ensure that crewmembers are familiar with fixed fire-extinguishing systems and procedures, including confirming crew evacuation, isolating the protected space, and activating the system.”
