Hopefully you will never experience a fire on your boat but being prepared is essential if it ever happens. The most common causes of fires on boats are smoking, paints or solvents being stored below deck, gas build up in the bilges, faulty wiring, cooking fats, petrol or gasoline vapours. Any precautions taken to control or prevent these causes from escalating and causing fires are sound advice. However fires can still occur and having the right extinguisher to fight the fire is essential if the fire is to be brought under control quickly. Water splashed on fires involving wood, cloth, paper or plastic. For faulty wiring fires and flammable liquids dry powder or carbon dioxide extinguishers are most effective. A fire blanket can be used for smothering fires cutting off the oxygen and is most useful for cloth and cooking fat fires. Foam extinguishers are most useful for flammable liquid fires and halocarbon for enclosed spaces.