Firefighters from across Florida learned how to fight fires aboard large vessels by practicing Tuesday on the SS American Victory.
Twenty firefighters from Tampa, Safety Harbor and Clearwater and from Sarasota and Putnam counties fought a simulated fire in the ship's engine room. Their greatest challenge was navigating through tight areas of the vessel with all their equipment to get to the source of the blaze, said Tampa Fire Rescue Capt. Emilio Salabarria.
"Some of the complications are going to be the narrow passageways, the straight, steep ladders and also fatigue because we're working in a hot environment, a dark environment," Salabarria said. "And we're often going to have to rotate crews."
Sarasota County Fire Lt. Mike Martino agrees.
"The space is so limited; there's traps everywhere," Martino said. "There are holes in the floor, steel floors that you can easily fall through, very narrow passages. You can't even turn around, so you have to position yourself so your air pack doesn't get stuck."
The SS American Victory, docked behind The Florida Aquarium, was launched in 1945 and was used during World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars. It now serves as a museum and maritime educational facility.
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