Loss of Fires-Navy Life

Darkness all around, pitch black, can’t see my hand
in front of my face, I can hear people moving, but no light, what is next? What
do you do when the lights go out and it’s not right? No more light and the
sounds are slowly ending also, all I can hear now are people breathing heavily
in the dark, I can smell sweat in the air, but I hold completely still, not
knowing exactly what will happen next.
All of a sudden, a lantern lights up and one after another the lanterns
come on around the fire room. Slowly my eyes adjust as I grab valves and close
them as quickly as possible cutting off the fuel to the burner front. I close
all the air registers as the sweat drips from my skin and soaks my shirt. I
reach up and grab each burner t-handle and unscrew each handle as fast as
possible and pull the burner barrels from the boiler, laying each on the deck
plates beside my feet. Finally all six burners out and the burner front secure
I pass the word it is secured and almost collapse. My body shakes as the sweat
continues to flow from me, and suddenly air comes through the vents, and I
stumble under one, the moving air cooling me slightly and slowly I start to
recover. Realizing as I stand there something, caused the loss of fires and the
shutdown, knowing we will have to go through checks next to find what happened.
I stop and grab the manual of safety procedures and checks and turn to the
opening page for loss of fires. Starting my checks, insuring the fuel is closed
off first and foremost, is key.  No fuel
must be in the firebox, so it is time for the gloves, and face shield and the
flashlight and mirror to inspect the firebox for fuel. Staring at the mirror
through the port-hole and bouncing the light off to the floor I slowly search
the box. Finding a small puddle of fuel on the floor, I announce it to the top
watch, who then prepares to purge the firebox, open all the air registers comes
the command and I slap each register open wide and stand back closing the port
hole from the inspection. Suddenly the electric forced draft blower is started
and we can hear it whine and run at low-speed first, then flip to high, the
backup generators are working and so are the blowers now. The purge has to last
at least three minutes this time. Standing back I watch the periscope of the
stacks, for fumes, or smoke during the full purge. None must be seen or the
purge will have to be started over again, and that means as a naval ship we sit
dead in the water, and a solid target for enemy missiles or torpedoes, a
dangerous time for any navy vessel for sure. Navy life for its engineers is no
piece of cake or easy job, and no matter what you do, it has to be done
instantly and in a certain way or procedure that is safe. The purge continues
of course and  once cleared I reinserted a
new burner barrel into the first burner position, my face mask in place and
gloves as my fellow shipmate, my lower level man mans the fuel oil valve. Next
the purge is complete and the torch has to be lit, opening the torch port, I grab
the torch and hold it tip towards the lower level man as he lights it. It
bursts into flames, and you can smell the fumes of oil.  Inserting the torch we count to three and I
flap the air register as my shipmate opens the fuel valve and the first burner
lights, we are on the way back now, and as long as the boiler pressure isn’t
too low we will be back quickly. Each minute we are down without steam, makes
us a sitting duck in the water, so now it is time to make sure we come all the
way back and get the main steam stop valve open so the engines can move us
again. Such is a Boiler Technicians life in the navy. Each minute a boiler is
down or we are not steaming at sea, makes the risk of the ship being hit or
attacked a higher percentage.
As the boiler reaches pressure and the main steam stop is opened, the
generators in the engine room come on-line, feeding the ventilation system and
air flow increases in the space. Our feed pumps, feeding the boiler come online
and the force draft blowers are switched over to steam-driven ones and they
whine as they start-up. The noise levels increase in the space as all the
equipment is put back online the fuel pumps, booster pumps, steam reducers; we
are back now and underway once more.  The
Top watch calls for another burner one at a time until all six are blazing and
the ship picks up speed. The captain is now at full speed ahead and things
finally return to normal as we now run under the fluorescent lights once more
and everyone rechecks the equipment. Haze gray and underway indeed!  It is just another thing to watch as we steam
along, to our mission and next destination. The fluorescent lights burn bright
and the deck plates are hot below my feet, but I know I have done my job now
and I have pride in it. I can feel the sway of the ship it bouncing over the
waves through my boots and my feet.
Knowing I have accomplished bringing back the boiler and steam that
makes us go, makes me proud and satisfied yet tired.  Our job to protect and defend is still intact
and will always be, for we are The U.S. Navy.