As a Fireman, you will be required to stand sounding and security watches. While on this type of watch, you are the ship's first line of defense in maintaining watertight integrity. Your primary mission is to look for fire and flooding hazards. On some ships, this watch is set from the end of the working day until 0800 the next morning. It

is also in effect during holiday routine. The watch is particularly needed at these times because fewer personnel are working aboard the ship; certain spaces that require frequent observation are not under the normal observation of personnel working in or near them. On most ships, sounding and security watches are stood around the clock. When standing this watch, besides looking for fire and flooding hazards, you may take readings on the air-conditioning and refrigeration plants. You may also have to ensure no freshwater spigots are leaking or have been left running in heads, laundries, galleys, and pantries. Another of your responsibilities is to maintain the proper material readiness conditions by checking all watertight air ports, doors, hatches, scuttles, and other damage-control fittings. You must report any irregular condition (change in soundings, violations of material condition, fire hazards, and so forth) to your watch supervisor.

You will use a sounding tape to take soundings. The sounding tape is a steel tape coiled on a reel suitable for being held while the tape is lowered. The tape is weighted at the end so that it can be lowered into the sounding tube. When taking a sounding, you will notice that water is relatively hard to see on a brass or bronze sounding rod. If you have problems reading the level, dry the rod or tape thoroughly and coat it with white chalk or indicating paste before you take a sounding. When the chalk becomes wet, it turns to a light-brown color. For example, if there are 6 inches of water in a tank when you take a sounding, the light-brown color of the chalk will be distinctly visible up to the 6-inch mark. The remainder of the sounding rod will still be covered with the white chalk.

NOTE: The chalk method is used only where water may be present. Water-indicating paste will not change color with fuel oil and is often used by the oil king to determine if there is water at the bottom of a fuel tank. Always remember never to use the same sounding tape in a fresh water tank sounding that had been used for fuel, oil, or any other purpose other than fresh water.

MESSENGER OF THE WATCH

The messenger of the watch performs a number of important duties that involve great responsibility. The messenger is usually assigned as the sound-powered telephone talker. This occurs when the ship is undergoing close maneuvering conditions with other ships, entering or leaving port, or refueling or replenishing from another ship. Since the sound-powered telephones provide communications between all the engineering spaces, you must know the proper procedures. When you talk, speak slowly and distinctly. Pronounce the syllables of each word very clearly. When you receive a message, or are given a message to transmit, repeat it word for word, exactly as it was given to you. Do not engage in any idle chatter.

As the messenger of the watch, you will also perform other duties as assigned by the petty officer of the watch. These duties include checking operating machinery and recording temperature and pressure readings in the appropriate logs.

The operating log is an hourly record of operating pressures and temperatures of almost all operating machinery. The log readings include lube oil and boiler pressures and temperatures, pump suction and discharge pressures, and other items needed to operate the engineering plant. You will have to write and print legibly. You also have to spell common Navy terms correctly and maintain your logs neatly and accurately. You should know the proper operating and limiting or danger pressures and temperatures of your equipment. This allows you to know when a piece of machinery or equipment is not operating properly.