Germany: using Cobra to fight ship fires
Cold Cut Cobra firefighting tool is not only being used on the likes of attic fires or electric vehicles. In Germany, they also use it for fires on-board ships, as Cobra Senior Instructor and ship firefighting specialist Timo Eichler explains.
When did you start using Cobra on ship fires?
“I am a firefighter for the city of Cuxhaven, a port in northern Germany, and part of my job is to fight fires on ships. We slowly started using Cobra from about 2011, and that’s when I became a Cobra Operator, but in 2018 we had a longer course conducted by a Cold Cut Systems appointed Cobra Senior Instructor, where I became a certified Cobra Instructor. Soon afterwards, we used Cobra to put out a big fire on board a ship in the nearby German port of Bremen.
“On the ship, there was a fire in the engine room. The marine engineer closed the engine room and activated the carbon dioxide system to suppress the fire. The door was kept closed to prevent oxygen from feeding the fire, as carbon dioxide displaces oxygen, which smothers the flames. Using the Cobra system, we were able to cool the fire gases from the outside without opening the engine room. This allowed us to contain the fire effectively without letting the carbon dioxide escape or introducing additional oxygen.”
How efficient is Cobra in fighting fires on-board ships?
“We have found that Cobra is a very good tool for ship fires. When we use normal firefighting tactics on ship fires it takes a lot longer. With Cobra we can get started very quickly and we can stop the spread of the fire on the ship.
“Before Cobra it was a very, very dangerous job to fight fires on-board ships. There’s a lot of steel, of course, and it means heat spreads very rapidly. But the Cobra tool can cut through the thick steel and quickly cool down the area. We can cut into the container or wherever the fire is and cool it down from the outside, without the need for risking sending in firefighters.”
Is there much interest in Cobra from maritime agencies and ship owners?
“Yes. For example, the German Coastguard has ordered three new ships, and Cobra is going to be installed in them. We are also testing putting Cobra on helicopters so they can fly in to fires on ships offshore and deploy Cobra there.”
What else does your job as a Cobra Senior Instructor involve?
“I train German and sometimes Spanish firefighters on what you can do with the Cobra system, as well as situations where it is not suitable, such as when people are inside the burning building or when much more water is needed than the 30 to 60 litres that Cobra can provide.
“Firefighters want reliable equipment that is easy to use but the training is very important for using Cobra. We only need three days of training for the instructors for them to understand how the tool is used. But people should take the training every three years.”
How important is training on how to use Cobra?
“At Cuxhaven harbour where I work, we train with Cobra once a month. I push for this because it’s so important to show what the tool can do. We have tools for electric fires, roof fires, ship fires but Cobra is one tool that can tackle all of these different types of fires.
“In Germany overall, I would say that firefighting tactics are quite old-fashioned. We need new tactics, and training on how and when to use Cobra can be so important. The SAVE tactic is very good and provides a much safer approach for firefighters.
“Last year, two firefighters died when responding to a fire in Sankt Augustin near Bonn. I honestly think that if they had been using Cobra at the scene they might not have died because we would not have had people inside but instead would have been able to cool down the gases from outside the building. Cobra is a safe and effective tool.”
