What is the first step when discovering a fire on board?

• A. Raise the alarm and follow the ship's fire procedure
• B. Try to extinguish with water first
• C. Ignore until someone else notices
• D. Call a lifeboat drill

Answer: (A)

When you first discover a fire on board, the immediate move is to raise the alarm and start the ship’s fire procedure. Sounding the alarm quickly notifies everyone, alerts the firefighting teams, and triggers the organized actions laid out in the plan—like muster, boundary controls, and dispatch of trained personnel with the right equipment. Following the ship’s fire procedure ensures a coordinated response: it helps confine the fire by shutting doors and isolating systems, calls for the appropriate control measures on the bridge and in compartments, and mobilizes the correct extinguishing teams. This approach prioritizes rescue and containment over any attempting-to-knock-it-down instinct, because delaying alarm can let the fire grow and threaten lives and critical systems. The other options aren’t appropriate first steps in an actual fire: ignoring it risks rapid spread, and using a drill as a substitute doesn’t activate the real emergency response.