Do Not Extinguish With Water Sign

Do Not Extinguish With Water Sign

Not every fire on a vessel can be safely fought with water, and using the wrong extinguishing agent on an electrical fault, a flammable liquid fire, or reactive chemical stowage can make an incident far worse in seconds. A do not extinguish with water sign gives crew and firefighting teams an instant warning at switchboards, transformer rooms, chemical stores and specific cargo spaces that water must never be the chosen response, directing them instead toward CO2, foam or dry powder appliances rated for that hazard.

The pictogram follows the ISO 7010 prohibition format: a red circular band and diagonal bar over a black symbol showing a water droplet crossed out above a flame. Presented this way, a do not extinguish with water sign communicates a critical firefighting instruction instantly, without requiring a crew member under pressure during an emergency to stop and read written text in a second language.

Where This Warning Belongs Onboard

Fit this do not extinguish with water sign at main switchboards, transformer and generator rooms, battery lockers, and any compartment storing chemicals, reactive metals or flammable liquids that react dangerously with water, such as certain paints, solvents or oxidising cargo. AS 1319 requires prohibition signage to be visible before a person commits to an action, so position the sign directly on or beside the equipment or space it applies to, at a height easily read during an emergency response rather than tucked away on a side panel.

Safety Sign Hub manufactures this do not extinguish with water sign in a rigid, fire-retardant photoluminescent substrate that charges under normal lighting and continues to glow for hours if power is lost during a fire or blackout. That capability is critical here specifically, because the moment this warning matters most is during an active fire, when smoke, low visibility and failed lighting are most likely to occur simultaneously.

Ordering by IMPA and ISSA Code

Ship chandlers and marine electrical contractors typically order this signage against IMPA code 33.8509 or ISSA code 47.585.09 rather than a written description, ensuring the correct pictogram and format arrive when restocking a vessel’s firefighting and electrical safety signage during survey or dry dock. Quoting the code also helps a superintendent standardise this do not extinguish with water sign across an entire fleet from a single catalogue reference.

Safety Sign Hub supplies this do not extinguish with water sign to Australian-flagged ships, electrical contractors, port facilities and industrial sites with switchrooms or reactive chemical storage. For background on how ISO 7010 prohibition pictograms are structured internationally, see the ISO 7010 standard overview. A correctly located, photoluminescent do not extinguish with water sign is a low-cost control that can prevent a firefighting response from turning a manageable fire into an electrocution risk or a chemical reaction.

Crew fire training and emergency drills should specifically cover the meaning of this do not extinguish with water sign alongside the vessel’s fire plan, since misapplying water during a real event can happen quickly if the warning has not been reinforced. Reviewing sign placement whenever electrical equipment or chemical stowage plans change ensures the notice keeps matching the actual hazard present in each space.

Fire teams responding under time pressure rely on pre-planned muster and firefighting routes, and a clearly mounted, glow-in-the-dark warning removes one more decision they would otherwise need to make correctly in the first few seconds of an incident. Pairing this notice with the correct extinguisher type mounted nearby, rather than a generic water hose reel, reinforces the message visually as well as symbolically. Many marine insurers and class surveyors specifically check during periodic inspections that switchrooms and chemical stores carry this exact prohibition pictogram, correctly matched to the extinguishing media actually installed in that space, so keeping current stock aboard avoids a compliance finding at survey.

Browse our full range of prohibition signs for more IMO-compliant maritime safety signage.