Detection and alarm
Fire control plan
The permanent diagram of the ship with the placement of all fire equipment and systems, control stations, divisions and escape routes. The copy for the shore fire brigade waits in a red container at the entrance to the superstructure.
Key facts
- It shows the placement of the fire-fighting and escape equipment, the extinguishing and alarm systems, the fire divisions and the escape routes.
- The copy for the shore fire brigade, in case of fire in port, is kept in a weathertight, red container outside, at the superstructure entrance on each side (marking per circular MSC/Circ.451).
- Every piece of equipment on board is marked with a plate carrying the same symbol that appears on the plan.
- The plates are photoluminescent or lit from the emergency power source. That is how the crew finds them after a blackout.
How it looks in practice
- The red tube does not always hang out permanently. At sea, in bad weather, it gets stowed away, and the snap mounting lets the crew clip it back before entering port. The shore fire brigade can unclip it, open it and take out the plan.
From the deck: sea practice, not regulation. Details vary with the ship and the owner.
On the fire control plan
These are not bulkhead signs: a system is marked with its symbol on the fire control plan (IMO res. A.1116(30), table 3).
Legal basis
SOLAS II-2/15.2.4: paragraph 15.2.4.1 requires the plans permanently exhibited, and 15.2.4.2 a duplicate set in a prominently marked weathertight enclosure outside the deckhouse, for the shore fire brigade (wording per res. MSC.99(73), in force since 01.07.2002). Symbols: IMO res. A.1116(30); container marking: MSC/Circ.451.
This is not a legal text: when in doubt, the current wording of the Convention and the FSS Code decides.