Vessel Fire Safety Regulations (SOR/2017-14)

Certification or Approval of Portable Fire Extinguishers

• 310 (1) A portable fire extinguisher that is required by this Part to be carried on a vessel must

  • (a) bear a mark indicating that it has been certified for marine use by a product certification body; or

  • (b) be of a type that has been approved for marine use by the U.S. Coast Guard.

• (2) Despite subsection (1), a portable fire extinguisher may be of a type approved by a recognized organization if it was carried on a vessel when the vessel was imported into Canada.

Additional Requirements for Portable Fire Extinguishers

• 311 (1) Every portable fire extinguisher must be kept fully charged, and must be replaced according to its manufacturer’s specifications, if applicable.

• (2) A portable fire extinguisher that is required by this Part to be carried on a vessel must be mounted with a clamp bracket that holds the fire extinguisher securely in place but provides quick and positive release of the fire extinguisher for immediate use.

• (3) If a portable fire extinguisher is intended to be carried and operated by hand, it must not weigh more than 23 kg.

• (4) Every portable fire extinguisher must be stored where its operation will not be affected by icing or cold temperature.

• (5) Every portable fire extinguisher must be marked with a number at least 13 mm high, and its storage location must be marked with a corresponding number at least 13 mm high. However, if only one type and size of portable fire extinguisher is carried, the numbering may be omitted.

Fire Buckets

312 Every fire bucket must have a capacity of 10 L or more, be made of metal with a round bottom and a hole in the centre, be painted red and be fitted with a line of sufficient length to enable the bucket to be filled from the surrounding body of water from any deck.

Means of Escape

Exits

• 313 (1) Every accommodation space, wheelhouse, machinery space, or other space accessible to passengers or where the crew is normally employed, must have a primary exit and an emergency exit. However, an emergency exit is not required if the space is too small to have both a primary exit and an emergency exit.

• (2) The primary exit and the emergency exit must

  • (a) be unobstructed, be readily accessible and lead as directly as possible to an open deck;

  • (b) subject to paragraph 315(1)(e), have a clear opening that has a width and length of at least 560 mm or that provides a means of exit that is equivalent;

  • (c) be operable from both sides;

  • (d) be capable of being retained in an open position while being used as part of an escape route; and

  • (e) be so located that a single incident occurring inside or outside the space would be unlikely to prevent the use of the primary exit and the emergency exit at the same time.

• (3) Despite paragraph (2)(e), the primary exit and the emergency exit from the wheelhouse must, if feasible, be located on opposite sides of the vessel.

• (4) In each public space on a passenger-carrying vessel, the primary exit and the emergency exit must be identified by a photoluminescent or illuminated sign that contains a green pictogram and a white or lightly tinted graphical symbol and that has been certified by a product certification body as meeting the applicable specifications set out in standard ISO 3864-1, entitled Graphical symbols — Safety colours and safety signs — Part 1: Design principles for safety signs and safety markings, and standard ISO 7010, entitled Graphical symbols — Safety colours and safety signs — Registered safety signs, published by the International Organization for Standardization.

• (5) If a sign required by subsection (4) is not visible from an area in the public space, a white, or lightly tinted, and green photoluminescent or illuminated sign with an arrow pointing the way to the exit to which the sign relates must be in a readily visible location in the space and must be certified by a product certification body as meeting the applicable specifications set out in the standards referred to in subsection (4).

Escape Routes

• 314 (1) This section applies to the escape routes from an accommodation space, service space, wheelhouse or machinery space, or from any other space accessible to passengers or where the crew is normally employed.

• (2) Every stairway, corridor, door and ladder must be arranged to provide a ready means of escape to the muster and embarkation stations. Every door must be constructed to open outwards and be hinged on the forward side.

• (3) If the location of an exit in a space is such that egress from the space would be difficult without an aid such as a handhold or ladder, an appropriate aid must be permanently fitted.

• (4) Every handhold or ladder that permits access to or from a deck must, if feasible, extend sufficiently above the level of the deck to allow safe and rapid access.

• (5) Every ladder or stairway from a space other than a machinery space must be constructed of non-combustible material or be coated with a fire retardant coating, and must be equipped with anti-skid rungs or stairs.

• (6) Every ladder or stairway from a machinery space must be constructed of non-combustible material and be equipped with anti-skid rungs or stairs.

• (7) An intumescent coating must not be used on a stairway or ladder.

• (8) Every stairway of more than 1 m in height must be equipped with handrails or handholds on both sides and must maintain a clear width of 760 mm.

• (9) On a vessel that is not a passenger-carrying vessel, every portable ladder must be

  • (a) stowed in a readily accessible and clearly identified location that is as close as feasible to where it is meant to be used; and

  • (b) designed so that it can be securely fixed in place without the use of tools.

• (10) On a passenger-carrying vessel,

  • (a) vertical ladders and deck scuttles must not be provided except

    • (i) in areas occupied only by crew members, and

    • (ii) in areas where it is not feasible to install a stairway; and

  • (b) portable ladders must not be provided except in areas occupied only by crew members.

Arrangement of Stairways and Inclined Ladders on Passenger-carrying Vessels

• 315 (1) On a passenger-carrying vessel, the stairways and inclined ladders must be arranged so that

  • (a) the sum of the riser height and tread depth on each stair is not less than 430 mm and not more than 460 mm;

  • (b) except in the case of exterior stairways and inclined ladders without risers, a stair that has a tread depth of less than 260 mm must have a nosing of not less than 25 mm or other means of increasing the depth of the tread;

  • (c) handrails are fitted on both sides of every flight of stairs, and have a height measured vertically above the tread of not less than 840 mm and not more than 910 mm;

  • (d) at the top and bottom of every flight of stairs there is a clear landing with a surface area that is at least equal to the square of the actual tread width of the adjacent stair or, if that is not feasible, the largest surface area that is feasible;

  • (e) the clear width of every door opening to a stairway or inclined ladder is at least equal to the width of the stair closest to the opening;

  • (f) every stairway or inclined ladder has a minimum width of 760 mm or, if the stairway or inclined ladder is intended for use by more than 60 persons, of 760 mm plus 10 mm for each person in addition to the first 60; and

  • (g) the maximum angle of inclination from the horizontal of every stairway or inclined ladder is

    • (i) 45° or, in the case of a stairway or inclined ladder intended only for the use of the crew, 55°, or

    • (ii) the minimum angle that is feasible, if the maximum angle required by subparagraph (i) is not feasible.

• (2) For the purposes of paragraphs (1)(e) and (f), if the distance between handrails is less than the width of the treads, the width of the stair and the width of the stairway or inclined ladder must be measured between the handrails.

Structural Fire Protection

Insulation, Fire Retardant Coatings and Fire Retardant Resins

• 316 (1) The exposed surface of insulating materials fitted on the internal boundaries of machinery spaces must be impervious to oil and oil vapours.

• (2) All thermal insulation and acoustic insulation, including pipe and ventilation lagging, must be non-combustible.

• (3) Polyurethane foam or other organic foam insulation must not be used unless it is

  • (a) used to insulate a cargo space or a cold room or similar galley service space, sealed with a fire retardant coating of the intumescent type and covered with a steel-sheet protective facing; or

  • (b) used as a flotation material that is installed in a dedicated and enclosed space and protected from fire risks.

• 317 (1) This section applies in respect of the insulation, fire retardant coating and fire retardant resin required by this Part.

• (2) The insulation, fire retardant coating or fire retardant resin used on a deck or bulkhead must

  • (a) cover the entire surface of the deck or bulkhead;

  • (b) be carried past the penetration, intersection or terminal point of the deck or bulkhead for a distance of at least 380 mm;

  • (c) be installed on the side on which the fire risk is higher, unless it is not possible to do so; and

  • (d) if the insulation, coating or resin is vulnerable to damage, be protected to prevent any loss of its fire-resistant properties.

• (3) The insulation installed on a deck or bulkhead must be held in place by closely spaced studs and clips or by another method that will

  • (a) hold the insulation in place for at least 60 minutes when it is exposed to fire; and

  • (b) hold the insulation in place despite the vibration and motion of the vessel and the normal wear.

• (4) If insulation is installed on the stiffener side of a deck or bulkhead, at least 50% of the thickness of the insulation must be installed on top of the stiffener.

• (5) Fire retardant coating and fire retardant resin must be applied, and the surfaces to which they are to be applied must be prepared, in accordance with the specifications of its manufacturer.

Cooking and Heating Appliances

• 318 (1) On a passenger-carrying vessel, the boundaries of a galley that contains cooking appliances must consist of “F” class divisions or “B-15” class divisions, or be insulated with 30-minute fire rated insulation, if

  • (a) the vessel has sleeping accommodations; or

  • (b) meals are cooked in the galley with an appliance, other than a microwave, that has a heating surface that can exceed 120°C.

• (2) Every cooking or heating appliance must be installed in accordance with the appliance manufacturer’s recommendations, if any, with regard to clearances and with regard to materials, including insulation, installed in way of the appliance. If the space does not allow the minimum clearance, if any, recommended by the manufacturer,

  • (a) 30-minute fire rated insulation must be installed to the surfaces in way of the appliance;

  • (b) all surfaces around the appliance must be non-combustible; and

  • (c) the appliance must be installed so that the temperature of every surface adjacent to the appliance will not, when the appliance is operated, exceed 90°C or, if the surface is readily accessible, 60°C.

• (3) If life saving equipment, a muster station or an embarkation station is located on the deck above a space that contains a cooking or heating appliance, or on the other side of a bulkhead delimiting that space,

  • (a) in the case of a steel or aluminum vessel, the deck or bulkhead must consist of “A-15” class divisions in way of the life saving equipment, muster station or embarkation station; and

  • (b) in the case of a wooden or composite vessel, the deck or bulkhead must be insulated with 30-minute fire rated insulation in way of the life saving equipment, muster station or embarkation station.

Wheelhouses, Machinery Spaces and Lockers for Flammable or Combustible Materials

• 319 (1) Subject to subsection 320(1), the decks and bulkheads separating a wheelhouse from any other space must

  • (a) consist of “F” class divisions or “B-15” class divisions;

  • (b) be insulated with 30-minute fire rated insulation; or

  • (c) be coated with a fire retardant coating of the intumescent type.

• (2) Machinery space boundaries must, to the extent feasible, prevent the passage of smoke.

• (3) Every locker for storing flammable or combustible liquids

  • (a) must be of a construction that retards the propagation of flame on the inside of the locker by means of 30-minute fire rated insulation or fire retardant coating of the intumescent type;

  • (b) must not permit the escape of gas within an enclosed space; and

  • (c) must be vented outside independently of the ventilation from any other space.