The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) highlighted effective placement of smoke and fire detectors following its investigation of a fire aboard a fishing vessel, Tarka II, last year near Tatoosh Island, Washington. “Installation of smoke and fire detectors in spaces that are typically uncrewed when underway, such as the engine room, allows for the earliest detection and notification of a fire, maximizing the time for operators to respond to the fire or take actions to abandon the vessel,” the marine investigation report said.
“Vessel operators can improve fire safety by installing detectors in all areas susceptible to fire (such as the engine room and galley, and spaces that contain machinery, hot exhaust tubing, and fuel sources). Additionally, the detectors should be capable of notifying crewmembers throughout the vessel of fire or smoke and be routinely checked to ensure they are in good working order.”
The fishing vessel Tarka II did not have a smoke or fire detector in the engine room, where a fire broke out on September 2, 2024. The Tarka II’s engine room had a CCTV camera that would have been displayed in the wheelhouse, but it was not in use at the time of the fire. The captain’s first indication of a fire was seeing smoke coming from the vessel’s exhaust stacks. He likely would have been alerted to the fire sooner with an engine room smoke or fire detector or had the CCTV been operational.
The smoke detectors outside the engine room and in the galley did not activate until the captain opened the engine room door. The captain shut down the generator and main engine and noticed a small, smoldering fire near the hydraulic tank and hydraulic pump in the engine room. As the fire intensified, the captain and the crewmember abandoned the vessel into a liferaft and were rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard.
The exact source of the fire could not be determined because the Tarka II sank and was not recovered. It was declared a total loss estimated at $460,000.
Download the PDF: NTSB Tarka II