Fire on dive boat Conception in CA

[leadduck]

Here is the LA Times article
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-09-05/what-caused-fire-aboard-the-conception

They write about cell phone batteries in this article. There are bigger Li-ion battery packs in scooters / DPV. On one of my liveaboard trips, there were many scooters on the boat. People brought their own, some had home-made battery packs. Some had trouble with the battery packs, had to fix it, rewire, ...

 

[lexvil]

Undefined by the Coast Guard., but as with all things, that person is ultimately responsible for everything that happens on the boat.

For instance, my mates would invariable wake my wife if anything was wrong, from a plugged pooper to the coffee pot overflowing, as the mate often had navigational duties, we moved from one place to another during the night.

Often the mate (or me, as master) would sit in the Captain's chair or at a galley bench and play facebook if we were in cell range, or read a book if not. There are a thousand pictures of me sitting in the captain's chair reading a book.
View attachment 538686

Edit. Good lord, my beard was red at one time.

And now I understand the moniker “Wookie”

 

[Scuba Lawyer]

One of the more recent videos of the Conception berthing area seemed to show at least one electrical plug-in receptacle along the baseboard level below one of the single berths.

I was wondering about that too. It has been many moons since I was on the Conception so I have no recollection. Were there 110v AC outlets in, or near, the berths where someone could charge batteries below deck?

 

[lexvil]

From memory based on not having given it much thought at the time; there were usually only a few power outlets below the main deck which sometimes a fan would be running in port, there were many outlets on the main deck along the length or the salon and usually several things plugged in around the TV where there was a larger space to set things down, above this space the TV and several DVD’s were on shelves but smaller items from phones to 18650 chargers would be behind the bench seats.

I would prefer an investigator start with confidence of findings than one who started convinced that they will never know, so long as the confidence is backed with integrity.

 

[markmud]

What other source of ignition could have caused this fire besides electricity?

Hi Eric,

Not much. The vessel is designed to have as few ignition sources as possible. Unfortunately, it is full of possible electrical ignition sources. If the wiring or circuit breaker systems are not functioning correctly, that could become a heat source.

Wookie can give better facts regarding the USCG requirements for wiring USCG inspected vessels. For one thing, the cabling must have a fire rating, such as 18 minutes.

Most fires on vessels originate in the galley or machinery spaces. I believe one of the generators on Conception was around 50KW. That is a lot of juice. Diesel engines can have exhaust gas temperatures above 1,000 degrees F.

Diesel fuel has a relatively high flash point. It requires a significant heat source for ignition.

Battery systems. Yeah, it is electrical.

The propane barbecue system. But it requires a heat source. And, I am assuming that it was secured properly and not functioning.

The gas for the Zodiac. But this requires a heat source.

Smoking.

I have a friend who owns an investigative firm. He investigates mostly insurance casualties. Most of the evidence he has stored in his shop is fire damaged electrical products.

Most of the people who have opined as to the root cause of this incident are blaming some sort of electrical device--mostly batteries or their chargers. They are probably correct. It is a safe bet.

m

 

[Honokai]

My “MSN” home page opens this morning to a headline from AP “Probe could lead to criminal case”.

So disgraceful as to where journalism has fallen. I am without words.

 

[Bob DBF]

“Homendy (NTSB Board Member Jennifer Homendy) said she was 100 percent confident that investigators will determine the cause of the fire, why it occurred, how it occurred, and what it will take to prevent it from happening again.”

This is dangerous thinking in the first days of the NTSB investigation

Considering their track record, it isn't too much of the stretch. It's also a reassurance to people to know some government entity is working to find answers, rather than the usual talk and nothing getting done. Without setting high goals, one dosen't achieve them.



Bob

 

[AfterDark]

So I've held my opinion(s) on this tragedy until now. It was difficult to think out with detachment. I've gotten to the point where I think I can add my thinking to this horror.

Haven't read the entire thread but enough to know there was propane and cooking grease on board but probably not in use. I'm assuming like most liveaboards they had banked nitrox. I won't guess how the fire started and if this has been mentioned excuse me. If the fire started quickly somewhere near the banked nitrox and created a leak the HP enriched air would have fed and spread that fire quite quickly. In addition the burst disks on all the tanks ?filled? with enriched air would reach either the pressure limit or temperature limit of the disk adding more HP enriched air in every direction on the boat unless all the tanks were the same and stored in the same position, if not burst disks would be facing every which way. Also don't know if they blended the nitrox or had it delivered blended. If there was O2 aboard for blending that would just be the worst.
Such horrible pictures.

 

[KathyV]

NTSB investigator in boat fire 'taken aback' by small escape route for passengers

NTSB investigator in boat fire ‘taken aback’ by small escape route for passengers

NTSB investigator Jennifer Homendy and Coast Guard Capt. Jason Neubauer tour the berthing area of the Vision, a similar vessel to the Conception.

By Mark Puente
Staff Writer

Sep. 5, 2019
7:19 AM

The lead investigator probing the Conception boat fire disaster expressed concerns about the ability of passengers to escape in an emergency after she and her team toured a similar vessel in Santa Barbara Harbor on Wednesday.

National Transportation and Safety Board member Jennifer Homendy told The Times she was “taken aback” by the size of the emergency hatch when she toured the Vision.

Authorities say 34 died early Monday when a fire swept through the Conception. The victims were sleeping below deck and were unable to get out. Five crew members were on deck when the fire broke out and were able to escape.

Investigators are trying to determine what caused the fire and why people were not able to get out.

Homendy said she and the investigators turned the lights off to see what it would have been like for the passengers trapped on the Conception.

With the lights off, the emergency lighting was on the other side of the room, she said.

Getting to the emergency hatch was difficult, she said, adding they couldn’t find the light switches in the dark.

“You have to climb up a ladder and across the top bunk and then push a wooden door up,” she said. “It was a tight space. We couldn’t turn the light on.”

Though slightly larger than the Conception, the Vision has a similar layout. Single and double bunks are stacked two and three high in the boat’s sleeping quarters below deck. A wooden staircase leads from the sleeping area up to the galley. Authorities say the exit on the Conception — along with an escape hatch that opens up near the dive deck on the boat — was blocked by fire.

Both boats are owned by Truth Aquatics, which operated charter diving excursions around the Channel Islands. The U.S. Coast Guard has said the Conception had passed all recent inspections.

 

[lexvil]

So I've held my opinion(s) on this tragedy until now. It was difficult to think out with detachment. I've gotten to the point where I think I can add my thinking to this horror.

Haven't read the entire thread but enough to know there was propane and cooking grease on board but probably not in use. I'm assuming like most liveaboards they had banked nitrox. I won't guess how the fire started and if this has been mentioned excuse me. If the fire started quickly somewhere near the banked nitrox and created a leak the HP enriched air would have fed and spread that fire quite quickly. In addition the burst disks on all the tanks ?filled? with enriched air would reach either the pressure limit or temperature limit of the disk adding more HP enriched air in every direction on the boat unless all the tanks were the same and stored in the same position, if not burst disks would be facing every which way. Also don't if they blended the nitrox or had it delivered blended. If there was O2 aboard for blending that would just be the worst.
Such horrible pictures.

You may want to read the whole thread, no banked nitrox.