In boats with cooking facilities a fire blanket must be kept nearby, ready for immediate use, so that any pan fire can be dealt with swiftly and prevented from spreading. A fire blanket can also aid escape by shielding you or somebody else from the fire.
In order for the fire blanket to be effective it needs to have been made to a relevant manufacturing Standard. As a minimum the blanket must be marked as complying with the 'light duty' requirement of BS 6575, or, more recently, BS EN 1869. Blankets manufactured before the earlier Standard was introduced, in 1985, may well have deteriorated and now be ineffective in dealing with a fire. [6.3]
 | Make sure the fire blanket can be easily reached if there's a fire on the cooker. We often find blankets mounted by the side or at the back of the cooker, or in cupboards or drawers, making it dangerous to reach in the event of a cooker fire. It needs to be accessible at all times, in a safe and prominent place. Don't forget, it's also a good idea to make sure that anyone unfamiliar with the layout of your boat is made aware of where to find fire blankets, extinguishers and escape routes. [6.3] |