Spring Forward
By
Crew Member Cheri
On March 9th,
in America we set our clocks
forward. But it is also the time to change that battery in your smoke
detector. As a crew member aboard Titanic, I found out that Titanic
had a unique fire detection system, like a Victorian Smoke detector!
Near the bridge was a sort of headquarter fire station with a fireman on
duty 24 hours a day, never moving more than 6 feet away from his post.
There was a tube-like system of little tubes
that all came to this main position with an airtight glass case that
contained a small filament of foil inside. A suction system drew air
from the little tubes making the filament vibrate. The small tubes ran
all through the ship from other stations. The
main fireman would watch the glass tube to see if the suction was
working with the movement of the foil inside the glass tube. If a small
ball of smoke looking like a gray wool ball appeared in the tube, it was
an alarm that warned the fireman on duty. He
would immediately call on one of the 50 telephones on the ship to a deck
hand on that level, to check that area and phone back with the result;
like a dispatch of sorts. Fire hoses and hydrants were placed in key
areas. I found this quite interesting to
know that safety was thought of, in case of a fire.
So as we spring
forward in time to 2014, review your own fire safety in your homes. Make
sure you have placed fire hydrants in key areas, you have the local
fire station phone number in your cell phone,
and batteries changed in your smoke detectors! And if you are part of
the Titanic crew, lookout for icebergs!
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