UK: HMS Monmouth Holds Fire-Exercise on Patrol

Plymouth based warship HMS Monmouth conducted a major engine-space fire exercise to keep self-protection skills fresh mid-way through its seven-month security patrol of the Arabian Gulf.

Back at sea and on operations after a two-week ‘pit-stop’ of essential maintenance and well-deserved rest and recuperation in Dubai, HMS Monmouth, has got stuck into the operational tempo that has dictated the pace of the deployment thus far, including highly realistic emergency exercises.

The ship regularly practises simulated incidents, from fast-boat attack to internal fires and floods.  This ensures that the crew is prepared to deal with any emergency.  However, with the ship being on patrol the exercises have added urgency and relevance.

As soon as the ship left Dubai controlled ‘mayhem’ was already being instigated by the exercise umpires as they started a main engine space fire exercise to test the emergency response teams.  Exercise smoke quickly filled the vast compartment, making it almost impossible for the fire-fighters to see, while ventilation was crash stopped and the temperature started to rise.

Chief Petty Office Dave Coleman, an exercise organiser, said:

“Every member of the ship’s company is trained to fight and extinguish fires, whether it is from a minor incident to a major fire onboard which requires more manpower and highly trained techniques to be employed.

“The objectives of the main machinery space fire exercise are to test the ship’s standard operating procedures for tackling a major fire at sea, to train and test all members of the ship’s company in advanced fire-fighting drills and to introduce new crew members to the ship’s damage-control organisation in order to maintain operational capability outside of the Flag Officer Sea Training environment.”

The fire fighters were supported by first-aiders, marine engineers and communicators.  This evolution highlighted the importance of everyone in the team playing their part in keeping the ship on station.

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Naval Today Staff, March 6, 2013; Image: Royal Navy