Page 138 - NAVAL SCIENCE 3 TEXTBOOK

lEI Damage Control and Firefighting

A ship's ability to do its job may one day depend all its crew's dnlll- teams to detect chemical. biological, or radiological (CBR) attacks,
age control abilities. Damage control covers firefightillg, collision and routes casualties to battle dressing stations.
and grounding damage, explosion damage. battle damage, and
care of the injured. The duties and responsibilities of thc ship's
damage control orgililization are outlined in the ship's battle bill Repair Parties
and co\'crcd in detail in the Damage COl1trol lHml//nl. They include Repair parties consist of personnel who attempt to make emer-
routine and emergency maintenance of damage control equip- genc), repairs to any vitnl damaged equipment or ship's structure.
ment ilnd closures; control of damage and flooding caused byacci- They nrc the main components in the DCA's damage control orga-
dent or hostile action; and defense against chemical. biological, nization. The number and r;:ltings of crew members assigned to il
and radiologic.,1 attack. repair part)' are determined by the location of its station, the size
of the area to be covered by that station, and the total llumber of
people available.
The Damage Control Organization
Each repair part)' will have nn officer or chief petty officer in
The shipboard damage control organization consists of dall1<lge charge, a scene leader to supervise all on-scene activities, a phone
control central (DeC), repair lockers, and repair parties stntioned talker, messengers, and personnel equipped with special oxygen
in and responsible fo r varioLls areas of the ship. The engineering breathing apparatus (OIlA). (For further discussion of OBA, see
officer is the clnmnge control ofHcer. He or she is assisted by the the section on protective fire clothing.) Repair part)' personnel
damage control nssistnnt (DCA), who is responsible for preventing nre assigned to various teams within each repair party, including
nnd repairing dnmage, tmining the crew in damage control, and investigation teams, hose teams, dewatering. plugging. and patch-
caring for machinery, drainage, and piping assigned to the damage ing teams, shoring, piping repair. structurnl repair, casualty power.
cont rol org,lI1izatioll (such as firemains, foam systems, and water interior communicatiolls repair. and electrical repair teams. There
\\'ashdown systellls). In addition to these key leaders, each depart- are also CUR (chemical. biological, and nuclear warfare) monitor-
ment has a damage control petty officer, who coordinates the ing teams and decontamination teams. Besides the general repair
trai ning of dep,utmental personnel in both damage control proce- parties, on some ships there arc special departmental teams to
dures nnd mnintenance of damage control fillings and equipment handle aviation fuel repair. aviation crash and salvage. and ord-
ill their depnrtlnental sp'Kes. nance disposal.
Dalnnge control central is the headquarters for all damage COll- Repair parties ~ue assigned to each major part of the ship, and
trol activities in the ship's battle organization. It is located in a pro- to propulsion and electronics repair. Repair parties must be capa-
tected space welt within the ship. Dee coordinates alt the repair ble of:
parties for hull, propulsion, electronics, weapons, air operations,
Evaluating and reporting correctly on the extent of damage in
and the battle dressing (first aid and emergency operating) sta-
their areas
tions. It receives reports from damage cont rol parties, nssesses the
damage, and decides which damage is most in need of repairs. It COlltrolling nnd extinguishing all kinds of fires
also advises the colllmanding officer (CO) on what must be done Giving first aid and transporting the injured to battle dress-
to keep the ship in fighting shape. ing stations
The DCA has a battle station in the DeC. where he or she Detecting, identifying. and measuring nuclear radiation and
uses various visual aids to help coordinate plans to contain dmn- biological and chemical agents, and carrying out decontami-
age. These include charts and diagrams of the entire ship, its sys- nation procedures
tems. ;:md access routes to difte rent areas. A casualty displny board
Performing the special duties nssigned to their parties, such as
enables the DCA to keep track of the damage sustained and the
propulsion and electronics repairs. and maintaining water-
progress of corrective actioll, based on repair party reports. The
tight integrity, structural integrity. and ship's maneuvcrability
DCA also coordinates the decontamination stations, monitors

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