AWO Near Miss: Fire Fighting Nozzle Seized in Closed Position

Fire Fighting Nozzle Seized in Closed Position: While conducting an upper-engine room fire drill, crew members aboard a harbor tug utilized a deck fire station to simulate the use of a fire hose to create a heat-suppressing fog, reenacting a cooling exercise that would be used to reduce heat in an actual firefighting event. The drill was carried out without opening the nozzle, which the deckhand found seized in the closed position while performing the drill. During an after-action review with the crew, the deckhand mentioned the frozen nozzle, leading to an inspection and discovery of corrosion from seawater inside the nozzle. It was determined that corrosion from salt spray had led to the nozzle’s inoperability.