113 - Exploring Maritime Fire Safety with Bogdan Racięga

My knowledge about fire safety at sea was pretty limited, at best. I was planning this episode for a long time, and then the disastrous fire happened at a car carrier near the Netherlands coast. In light of these events, I've reached out to Bogdan Racięga of the Baltic Fire Laboratory, a Polish maritime fire safety expert to discuss this particular incident and to delve into the intricate aspects of fire safety regulations on marine vessels.

Bogdan explains and highlights the critical role of the International Maritime Organization in setting and enforcing fire safety standards, and the role of Class Societies in classifying and certifying these solutions for ships. 

Ever wondered about the unique challenges of protecting specific areas on ships? In the episode, we discuss protection strategies for machinery, cargo spaces, cabin balconies and galley areas. We unpack those challenges and discuss the differences between separation and extinguishing systems, including the necessity for perfect cooperation between passive and active solutions.  Discussing some tragic fires we consider what are the consequences of a delayed response when activating firefighting systems. And how does fire testing play into all this? Bogdan shares his expertise on these subjects, delving into the potential misuse of fire suppression systems and the importance of collaboration between manufacturers. 

I've had a blast recording this and I hope you will also enjoy learning about the maritime fire safety!