Iron Chieftain flashbacks during Port Kembla training for firefighters

Hell might have unleashed its fury on firefighter Stuart Willick five years ago, but for him it's like it happened yesterday.

In June 2018, flames erupted in the cargo hold of the Iron Chieftain as crews were unloading dolomite at Port Kembla Harbour.

"There was fire coming out everywhere," firefighter Willick said. "The heat coming out of that was amazing. It was very, very hot.

"We had to get off the ship at one stage because they were concerned about the heat being generated because we were standing over the top of the main fuel tanks."

The large-scale emergency continued for a week as firefighters battled to douse the flames as they raged inside the stricken vessel.

In May, some of those firefighters returned to the Port to undertake vital training with tugboat operator Svitzer in case such an emergency should ever happen again.

Mark McMaster, who's stationed at Fire and Rescue NSW Dapto, was also there on the day the blaze ignited.

He vividly remembers standing on the deck as the fire raged underneath him. The fear for crews at that point was they didn't exactly know which part of this ship was on fire.

You can flick through the photographs of the incident below:

"I've never experienced anything quite so hot in my life," he said.

Fires like the one on board the Iron Chieftain can take a long time to extinguish as it can be difficult to get to the seat of the fire (where the main body of the fire is located).

It took a week to put the fire out and the ship didn't leave Port Kembla until March 2018.

"You can put as much water as you like and then there's always going be a little area that's protected from the water," FRNSW Wollongong firefighter Willick said.

The aftermath of the Iron Chieftain fire saw Svitzer upgrade to three new tugs - they're bigger, more powerful, responsive, efficient and flexible.

This week firefighters jumped on board the Ruby, Bass and Flinders (all named after local landmarks) to learn how the vessels can help fight fires from the water.

"This is a joint partnership allowing for both parties to collaborate and understand each other's capacities, expectations and roles in the event of an emergency or fire in the port," Svitzer Australia senior marine standards Superintendent Antony Shaw said.

"It's [the tugs] got pumps that suck water out of the harbor and two very large cannon sprays are mounted on the forward part of the bridge. They can shoot water up to 100-plus meters at the rate of 1200 cubic meters every hour. It can fill an Olympic swimming pool in two hours."

In the average year Svitzer's tugs help guide 3500 vessels in Port Kembla, and Fire and Rescue NSW Acting Zone Commander Illawarra Superintendent Andrew Erlik said collaborative training is vital when planning for emergencies.

"We're being more proactive, rather than reactive," he said.

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