New yachtie’s view: 5 day Basic Safety Training Course with Seascope France

Early morning I packed my lunch, an extra pair of socks and some old clothes. It was going to be a long day at the Seascope France fireground.  

     STCW Fire Prevention and Firefighting module is one of the two practical modules in STCW Basic Safety Training course. It starts early in the morning (depart at 7 am!) and finishes well in the afternoon. Seascope France has its fireground close Nice and arranges a minibus to drive students there. 

    Upon arrival at the fire station we received overalls, boots, fire proof clothing, gloves, helmets and breathing apparatus sets. Once fully equipped, we took a short walk up a track and arrived at the training site. There are 6 containers on the site fitted out as rooms with beds and dummies to simulate the interior of a boat and practice fire safety on yachts. 

    In the morning, we learnt about various fire extinguishers, different types of fires and breathing apparatus sets. We did some exercises with breating gear in the containers filled with smoke. It was scary but fun!

    By lunch time, we all were starving and sat down to enjoy our food and sunshine. Right after the break, a real fire was set off in one of the containers, and then a real fire engine arrived to supply water, so we could practice using fire hose. A trained fireman stayed with us to ensure our safety and share his knowledge and experience.

     STCW Fire Prevention and Firefighting (STCW FP&FF for short) training is mandatory to obtain Basic Safety Training certificate. It's a short and intensive training that gives lots of useful knowledge and hands-on experience. It's a bit challenging physically but then... You must be fit and fully prepared if you want to get a job on a superyacht!

• Click here to check STCW BST dates