Hull Construction Regulations

71 (1) The spaces appropriated for the use of passengers and crew shall be so arranged, on the decks, sides and ends, that fire will be prevented from travelling from one deck to another.

(2) Wooden structures appropriated for the use of passengers and crew shall be lined with fire-resisting material.

(3) Fire-resisting bulkheads shall extend from side to side of the ship and shall be continuous from the main hull to the uppermost part of the structure and be arranged within the main spaces appropriated to passengers and crew so that the length of the spaces between such bulkheads shall not exceed 40 m.

(4) Openings shall not be permitted in fire-resisting bulkheads except when they are necessary to provide passageways, and all such openings shall be fitted with doors equivalent to the automatic three-way shoot bolt type that shall be fire-resisting when closed; such doors shall be so arranged that they may readily be opened or closed from both sides of the bulkhead; they shall be of the self-closing type, fitted with simple means of release from the open position, and a fusible link shall be fitted in the release arrangement; the doors shall be capable of resisting for one hour a fire on either side of an intensity of 815°C without warping.

(5) Plans showing the arrangement of bulkheads shall be submitted to the Board for approval.

(6) Where steps or recesses are necessary in fire-resisting bulkheads, the decks in way of such steps or recesses shall be made fire-resisting.

(7) In ships that carry automobiles between decks the length of the space in which the automobiles are stowed shall comply with the provisions of subsection (3).

(8) In the case of railway car ferries, where it is impracticable to fit fire-resisting bulkheads on the car deck, the car deck shall be completely isolated from the passenger spaces by fire-resisting bulkheads, doors and decks.

(9) Exits shall be provided from spaces between fire-resisting bulkheads and shall be independent of the doors in these bulkheads; they shall be so arranged that they will not act as conductors of fire from one deck to another; the exits shall be so arranged that all persons accommodated in spaces that are bounded by fire-resisting bulkheads shall be able to escape from these spaces to an open deck or to spaces within other compartments that will lead to an open deck or to a place of safety.

(10) Open ventilating trunks leading from one deck to another are prohibited.

(11) Ships in which the main hull is constructed of wood shall be fitted below the main deck with fire-resisting bulkheads separating the hold spaces from the machinery and boiler spaces.

(12) If the hull is of steel, the bulkheads below the bulkhead deck shall be spaced to conform to the provisions of subsection (3) regarding the spacing of fire-resisting bulkheads.

(13) The galley shall be separated from accommodation spaces by fire-resisting bulkheads; dumb waiters or elevators shall be enclosed by fire-resisting bulkheads and doors.

(14) Casings forming trunks from machinery and boiler spaces shall be fire-resisting where they pass through passenger spaces.

(15) The material used for lining decks, sides and ends of spaces shall be fire-resisting.

(16) Steel bulkheads, suitably stiffened, shall be considered fire-resisting bulkheads provided they are not lined with flammable material; where any such bulkheads are in contact with or in close proximity to flammable material they shall be suitably insulated in way of this material.