Alarms and On-Ship Evacuation

Do you see a fire? An accident? A hazard or danger? Raise the alarm!

In this step, we will look at important phrases to use when worried guests are asking questions. In an emerging incident or emergency, you may not know the extent or have an overview of danger straight away. Protocol and rehearsed actions are a great way to avoid panic and ensure security measures are maintained. 

General Emergency Announcements

The General Emergency Alarm is used for all types of incidents, consisting of seven short blasts followed by one long blast. In the next video, you can hear the alarm signal coming from the ship's horn and PA system simultaneously. This is followed by an announcement from the bridge.

When the general alarm is sounding and the bridge announces to evacuate to assembly stations, guests might get worried and naturally will have many questions. A very important job is to calm and secure a safe and incident-free evacuation. In the upcoming video, you will find examples of phrases and exchanges.

In situations like an on-ship evacuation, it is vital to explain to the guests what is happening, when and how they will receive more information, also how they can get to the assembly stations as quickly and as safely as possible.

The final announcement from the PA broadcast above is; "the crew are solving the problem as quickly and safely as possible” this is chosen to calm passengers and act as a de-escalating aid. As a crew member, you may not know much about the situation yet. However, it may help to remind yourself that you are prepared and trained for situations like these in comparison to the guests. 

To assert calm, build trust in a condition of impatience, can be a life-saver as the situation unfolds. If an evacuation is needed, everyone's readiness and cooperation may be required. 

Examples of varied responses when you don't have all information yet yourself:

“We are waiting for further instructions.”
“All we can do now is wait and listen for more information.”
“The crew is solving the problem as quickly and safely as possible.”

Building Relationships and Asserting Calm

Guests may be panicked over the situation and may not handle events in the way they would during normal circumstances. Remember to talk in a calm voice. Assert yourself in a calm and confident way by showing leadership, speaking clearly and at volume.  This will help the passengers manage an unexpected situation because knowing that this is something you have trained and prepared for will ease their worries.

Guest: “Why lifejackets? – Are we sinking?!”
Crew: “Please keep calm. We need to be prepared if we have to leave the ship.” 

Guest: “I have to use the toilet.”
Crew: “OK, please follow my colleague. He will show the way.”

Try to give extra focus to calm guests that seem especially worried. This is for their own sake, but also to help avoid them agitating the whole group. It can sometimes help to give scared people a task to perform, something to focus on. Calming phrases to help you lead:

“Try not to worry. We are all trained for situations like these”.
“Can I sit with you for a while?”
“I understand that you are scared. But try to stay calm. Could you please help me with something?”

When the situation is over, it is important to keep informing and calming guests. They might be shocked or traumatised.

Crew: “The situation is now under control. Please return your lifejackets.”
“You can now leave the assembly station. Thank you for your patience and cooperation.”

In case the situation worsens and  abandon ship is announced:

Crew: “Orders from the captain, we have to leave the ship. Stay calm and follow the instructions.” 

More about this situation in the following step.

In Case of a Fire

In your training procedures and routines for handling fire or smoke on the vessel should be extensively covered. Let's have a quick reminder. In case of a fire, you should:

1. Raise the Fire Alarm

• By pushing the Alarm Button

2. Save People

• Move people in danger to a safe place
• Give first aid

3. Extinguish Fire 

Using appropriate equipment:

• Fire extinguishers
• Fire hoses
• Fire extinguisher cabinets
• Fire stations

Listen and practice important words required in a fire emergency from this vocabulary:

Communication with guests is one important task in an emergency. Other tasks that also require practice for key communication phrases or words would be in emergency closed-loop communications, remembering to use message markers. 

Listen in on how radio communications can sound like during a fire (or a fire drill):