Part 1 - Definitions

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Accommodation Spaces

Accommodation spaces include:

• Public spaces
• Corridors and lobbies
• Public washrooms and toilet spaces
• Crew Cabins
• Passenger Cabins
• Offices
• Hospitals
• Dispensaries
• Cinemas
• Games Rooms
• Hairdressing salons and beauty parlours
• Isolated pantries containing no cooking appliances
• Dining rooms
• Lounges
• Shops
• Drying rooms having a deck area of 4 m² or less
• Isolated lockers and small storerooms having a deck area of 4 m² or less in which flammable liquids are not stowed
• Cleaning gear lockers in which flammable liquids are not stowed
• Laboratories in which flammable liquids are not stowed

'A' Class Divisions

'A' class divisions are bulkheads and decks constructed of steel or other equivalent material, capable of preventing the passage of smoke and flame to the end of the one-hour standard fire test. They are insulated with approved materials such that the average temperature of the unexposed side will not rise more than 139° C above the original temperature, nor will the temperature at any one point, including any joint, rise more than 180° C above the original temperature, within the time listed below:

'A' Class Fire Doors

The construction of all doors in 'A' Class bulkheads and the means of securing them when closed should provide resistance to fire as well as to the passage of smoke and flame, as far as practicable, equivalent to that of the bulkheads in which the doors are situated. 'A' Class fire doors should be constructed of steel or other equivalent material.

Approved Materials

Approved materials are those which have been approved by the Board of Steamship Inspection and meet the test criteria described in the publication, TP 439, "Structural Fire Protection Standards: Testing and Approval Procedures". A listing of all Canadian Coast Guard approved structural fire protection materials is contained in the publication TP 438, "Structural Fire Protection Standards: List of Approved Products".

'B' Class Divisions

'B' Class divisions are bulkheads, decks, ceilings and linings constructed of approved non-combustible materials, capable of preventing the passage of flame to the end of the first half-hour of the standard fire test. They have an insulation value such that the average temperature of the unexposed side will not rise more than 139° C above the original temperature, nor will the temperature at any one point, including any joint, rise more than 225° C above the original temperature, within the time listed below :

'B' Class Fire Doors

The construction of all doors in 'B' Class bulkheads and the means of securing them when closed should provide resistance to fire as far as practicable equivalent to the bulkheads in which the doors are situated. 'B' Class fire doors should be constructed of approved non-combustible materials.

'C' Class Divisions

'C' Class divisions are bulkheads, decks, ceilings and linings constructed of approved non-combustible materials, which have no requirements relative to the passage of smoke and flame nor the limiting of temperature rise.

'C' Class Doors

'C' Class doors are the type of doors required to be fitted in 'C' Class bulkheads. They must be constructed of approved non-combustible materials.

Cargo Spaces

Cargo spaces are all spaces used for cargo including cargo oil tanks and any trunks leading to and from such spaces.

Ceilings

Ceilings are horizontal divisions fitted near the deckhead of a space for the purpose of decoration, acoustics or fire protection.

Combustible Materials

Combustible materials are materials which do not meet the criteria for non-combustibility.

Continuous 'B' Class Ceilings and Linings

Continuous 'B' Class ceilings and linings are those ceilings and linings which terminate only at a 'A' or 'B' Class division. Continuous 'B' Class ceilings may be used in lieu of fitting 'B' Class bulkheads deck to deck in accommodation and service areas.

Control Stations

Control Stations include:

• Spaces containing emergency sources of power and lighting, including battery rooms
• Spaces containing the ship's radio equipment
• Spaces used for the storage of smothering gas
• Wheelhouse and chart rooms
• Control rooms for propelling machinery when located outside the propelling machinery spaces
• Spaces containing fire control and recording equipment
• Spaces containing the operating controls for sprinkler and water deluge systems
• Spaces containing the emergency fire pumps
• Spaces containing the main navigation equipment
• Spaces containing centralized emergency public address system stations and equipment.
• Trunks leading to and from the above spaces.

Dead End Corridors

Dead end corridors are passageways from which there is only one route of escape.

Draft Stops

Draft stops are divisions installed between ceilings or linings and the ship's structure. The purpose of draft stops is to prevent the spread of smoke and flame in concealed spaces.

Fire Dampers

Fire dampers are devices fitted to vent ducts that penetrate 'A' Class bulkheads and decks, in order to maintain the fire integrity of the division and to prevent the spread of smoke and flame to adjacent compartments through the ventilation system.

Fire Integrity

Fire integrity is the basic fire-resisting ability of a bulkhead or deck to remain intact during a specified period, i.e. , 60 minutes for 'A' Class and 30 minutes for 'B' Class.

Furnishings

Furnishings are the contents of a room, such as desks, chairs, draperies, carpets, etc.

Intumescent Coatings

Intumescent coatings mean coatings which when heated are subject to a chemical reaction called intumescence. This causes the coating to form into a multi-cellular barrier which acts as a partial fire-shield. Intumescent coatings are not structural fire insulations.

Low Flame Spread Characteristics

Low flame spread characteristics means that the surface described will adequately restrict the spread of flame and has been approved by the Canadian Coast Guard as having successfully passed the tests described in TP 439, "Structural Fire Protection Standards: Testing and Approval Procedures."

Machinery Spaces of Category "A"

Machinery spaces of category "A" are spaces and trunks to such spaces which contain internal combustion machinery used for main propulsion, internal combustion machinery for purposes other than main propulsion where such machinery has in the aggregate a total power output of not less than 375 kW , or any oil fired boiler or oil fuel unit.

Machinery Spaces

Machinery spaces include:

• Machinery spaces of category 'A'
• Spaces containing propelling machinery
• Boiler spaces
• Spaces containing fuel oil units, steam or internal combustion machinery
• Spaces containing generators or electrical motors and auxiliaries (spaces containing the emergency source of power are considered control stations)
• Oil fuel filling stations
• Spaces containing refrigeration machinery
• Spaces containing ventilation and air conditioning machinery
• Spaces containing steering gear machinery
• Spaces containing stabilizing machinery
• Trunks leading to and from the above spaces

Main Vertical Zones

Main vertical zones are sections into which the hull, superstructure and deckhouses are divided by 'A' Class divisions the mean length of which on any one deck does not in general exceed 40 metres. Where main vertical zoning is not practicable as in special category spaces, equivalent protection must be obtained on the basis of a horizontal zone concept.

Methods of Fire Protection

In cargo ships, three methods of fire protection are permitted, namely IC, IIC and IIIC. Detailed requirements for each of the three methods are described in Part X of the Hull Construction Regulations.

Non-Combustible Materials

Non-combustible materials are materials approved by the Board of Steamship Inspection that have successfully passed the non-combustibility test described in TP 439, "Structural Fire Protection Standards: Testing and Approval Procedures"

Public Spaces

Public spaces are those spaces in accommodation areas that are used for dining rooms, lounges, recreation rooms, libraries and similar enclosed spaces.

Penetrations

Penetrations are openings made in bulkheads or decks to allow the passage of pipes, electric cables and ventilation ducts. For the purpose of structural fire protection, these openings must be protected to maintain the fire integrity of the bulkhead or deck.

Ro-Ro Cargo Spaces

Ro-Ro cargo spaces are spaces not normally subdivided in any way and extending to either a substantial length or the entire length of the ship in which goods (packaged or in bulk), in or on rail or road cars, vehicles (including road or rail tankers), trailers, containers, pallets, demountable tanks or in or on similar stowage units or other receptacles that can be loaded and unloaded normally in a horizontal direction.

Rooms Containing Furniture and Furnishings of Restricted Fire Risk

Rooms containing furniture and furnishings of restricted fire risk are those rooms (whether cabins, public spaces, offices or other types of accommodation) in which:

1. all case furniture such as desks, wardrobes, bureaux, dressers, is constructed entirely of approved non-combustible materials except that a combustible veneer not exceeding 2 mm may be used on the working surface of such articles;
2. all free standing furniture such as chairs, sofas,tables is constructed with frames of non-combustible materials;
3. all draperies, curtains and other suspended textile materials have, qualities of resistance to flame not inferior to those of wool of mass 0.8 kg / m² ;
4. all soft floor coverings meet the test criteria described in TP 439, "Structural Fire Protection Standards: Testing and Approval Procedures".
5. all exposed surfaces of bulkheads, linings and ceilings have low flame spread characteristics; and
6. all upholstered furniture meets an approved test criteria.

Service Spaces

Service spaces include:

• Galleys
• Pantries containing cooking appliances
• Storerooms
• Workshops (other than those forming part of a machinery space)
• Laundries
• Drying rooms having a deck area of more than 4 m²
• Mail and baggage rooms
• Paint and lamp rooms
• Trunks leading to and from the above spaces

Special Category Spaces

Special category spaces are enclosed spaces above or below the bulkhead deck intended for the carriage of motor vehicles with fuel in their tanks for their own propulsion, into and from which such vehicles can be driven and to which passengers have access.

Stairways

Stairways are vertical means of escape between two decks. A stairway which penetrates only one deck must be enclosed by bulkheads and a door at least at one level. If it is necessary to have a stairway that penetrates more than one deck, a stairtower is to be provided.

Stairtower

A stairtower is an enclosure which provides continuous fire shelter for a stairway penetrating more than one deck.

Steel or other Equivalent Material

Means steel or any non-combustible material that by itself or when insulated has structural and fire integrity properties equivalent to steel at the end of the applicable exposure to the standard fire test.

Structural Fire Protection

Structural fire protection is a means of minimizing the probability of a major fire and the resulting loss of life by designing the structure of the ship to confine any outbreaks of fire to as small an area as possible. This is accomplished by specifying fire endurance capabilities of structural boundaries. Additional items considered are minor bulkheads and penetrations of structural boundaries.

The following basic principles underline the requirements contained in the Regulations and Standards pertaining to structural fire protection:

1. division of the ship into main vertical zones by thermal and structural boundaries (passenger ships);
2. separation of accommodation spaces from the remainder of the ship by thermal and structural boundaries;
3. restricted use of combustible materials;
4. detection of any fire in the zone of origin;
5. containment and extinction of any fire in the space of origin;
6. protection of the means of escape or access for fire fighting;
7. ready availability of fire extinguishing appliances; and
8. minimization of possibility of ignition of flammable cargo vapour.

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