Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) is encouraging owners of small boats to be fire safe as part of Boat Fire Safety Week which begins on Monday next.
Throughout the week, firefighters will be visit marinas right across the Northto talk to boat owners and hand out leaflets containing boat fire safety information to help them protect themselves and their passengers from fire.
Dale Ashford, Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service (NIFRS) said: “Boating is usually fun and relaxing, but even the most experienced boater should prepare for the worst.
” Fire safety is just as important on a boat as it is in the home.
“Although boat fires are much less common than fires on land, when they do occur, they can have devastating consequences.
“Boats are often in remote locations with difficult access, which may result in Firefighters taking longer to arrive at an incident.
“We would urge all boaters to ensure they have working smoke alarms on board their boat to alert them and their passengers to the earliest stages of fire and just like you would do at home, test the smoke alarms every week.
“Boaters should also ensure that they fit a suitable fire extinguisher in the engine compartment and cockpit locker.
“If a fire does occur and is small enough to tackle, boaters should extinguish the fire.
“As well as taking into account fire safety on the boat we would urge boaters to ensure that they know their location at all times so that in the event of any emergency we can get there as soon as possible.”
Tags:
