b'We first spoke with James McGuire and Bruce Topalian FOGHORN FOCUS from the Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Steamboat Company who collaborated with the Port Jefferson Fire Department foranin-personfiredrillinJune.Asafullyvolunteerfiredepartment,thedrillwasdoneintheeveningaboardthevesselLong Island.Around6p.m.,thefirechiefarrivedfora pre-drill briefing while the rest of the fire department ar-rivedaround7p.m.forthedrill.OfficersfromallBridge-port & Port Jefferson Steamboat Companys ferries were also on site. During this exercise, the firefighters smoked out the entire maincabinoftheferry.Itwasprettyrealistic,Topa-lian said. McGuire described the smoke as so thick that you couldnt see more than two to three feet in front of you. Smoking out the cabin was done to simulate a search and rescue under such extreme conditions. The fire de-partment had placed both adult- and child-size dummies throughout the cabin. Working in groups, the firefighters hadtogointothesmoke-filledcabintofindandretrievethe dummies. Down on the car deck, they simulated a car fire and the firefighters brought on their hoses and discharged them on the deck. Topalian explained that they stressed to the fire-fightersthatbecausetheferrywasoutofservice,thedeckwasopenaverydifferentexperiencethanafully-loadedcardeck.Wheninservice,carsareparkedapproximately18 to 24 inches apart which would be challenging for the firefighterstomaneuveraroundinfullturnoutgear.Footage taken during the drill showed how much the smokeThe proximity of cars when fully loaded lead to another reduced visibility in the vessel cabin.point of discussion. There are fire blankets on the car deck whichhelptodepriveafireofoxygenintheeventofacon-ventionalcarfire.Thefiredepartmentteamnotedthatona loaded deck, with cars packed closely together, getting the PHOTO: BRIDGEPORT & PORT JEFFERSON STEAMBOAT COMPANY It was pretty realistic,blankets onto a burning car could be challenging. The pos-sibilityofanelectricvehiclefirewasalsoaddressedasthatTopalian said. McGuire would be a lithium-ion battery-based fire that wouldnt be asresponsivetoconventionalfirefightingmethods.Theredescribed the smoke as is continued consideration by the company for the differ-entmethodsexistingorindevelopmenttofightthesefiresso thick that you couldntand it was a point of discussion during and after the drill. The fire department drilled for about an hour, followed see more than two to by sessions with the firefighters and vessel officers todiscuss such topics as managing electric vehicles andthree feet in front of you. wherebesttoparkthemonthecardeck,considering FOGHORN 26'