Fire on dive boat Conception in CA

[PDX Diver]

Just a quick post to comment that I have been on this boat a number of times most recently on an overnight trip in January. I would go on this boat next week if they were running trips. I would expect a number of changes in battery charging procedures and some changes to the fire warning system. I would have no problem if the second exit remained the same. I am much more interested in changes that relate to prevention and would prefer any dollars spent are focused there.

Prevention and detection.

After this, space on the sun deck behind the wheelhouse will probably be in high demand. Which makes a point, if someone was uncomfortable with the sleeping arrangement this option was available. They even have pads. No one on my trip used this option, though admittedly it was a bit cold and damp.

 

[JohnnyC]

Prevention and detection.

After this, space on the sun deck behind the wheelhouse will probably be in high demand. Which makes a point, if someone was uncomfortable with the sleeping arrangement this option was available. They even have pads. No one on my trip used this option, though admittedly it was a bit cold and damp.

I'm not a liveaboard guy, but in light of this, if I ever decide to do it, I might consider one of the Outdoor Research bivy-type shelters. Throw a pad and a sleeping bag in it and you don't have to worry about the cold and damp, and you also don't have to worry about sleeping like a sardine with the rest of them. Hell, it packs smaller than my Halcyon Life Raft does....

 

[PDX Diver]

Prevention and detection.

After this, space on the sun deck behind the wheelhouse will probably be in high demand. Which makes a point, if someone was uncomfortable with the sleeping arrangement this option was available. They even have pads. No one on my trip used this option, though admittedly it was a bit cold and damp.

I must apologize, I was too quick to click. I shouldn't have implied it as a viable option. But on a perfect summer night it would be way cool. I so hope they they come back..

 

[ijdod]

I might consider one of the Outdoor Research bivy-type shelters.

Something to keep in mind is that tents tend to be flammable too. There's a couple of incidents with them burning down each year. Essentially, be careful not unknowingly mitigate one risk with another.

 

[Cowfish Aesthetic]

I've been following the news and this thread from the beginning, and I think the mods have done an excellent job managing this discussion. The recaps have been particularly useful.

It seems to me that we have reached the point of diminishing returns from further speculation until more information is learned.

We know for certain that a fire on the boat prevented the escape of all 34 people who were in the passenger berth below. We can infer with good confidence that the inability of even a single person from below to escape suggests that their escape was made impossible by some circumstance. With similar confidence, we can say that this must have been due to one of three circumstances or a combination of them:

• toxic gases or a lack of oxygen that quickly incapacitated those below, possibly even before they awoke,
• rapid growth of the fire to such an extent that [edited to add: or failure of fire detection devices to raise the alarm before] both possible exits were impassible at the earliest moment of detection by those below, or
• an explosion (established as unlikely based on the lack of explosive materials in the relevant portions of the boat).

In the current absence of forensic information about where the fire began and how it burned, we are unable to determine which scenario is accurate, though analysis of possible causes has been informative. There seems to be consensus that the most likely cause of the fire was electrical in nature, either battery failure, defective/degraded wiring, or both. But again, in the current absence of forensic information we are unable to determine which scenario is accurate.

IMHO, we are now left to wait for additional information from the NTSB. Without it, I think further speculation is unlikely to be useful, though I would be happy to be proven wrong.

 

[Dirty Mac]

IMHO, we are now left to wait for additional information from the NTSB. Without it, I think further speculation is unlikely to be useful, though I would be happy to be proven wrong.

I think you're probably right. Unfortunately, the NTSB moves by its own schedule. I imagine once they succeed in raising the wreck and getting it to where it can be examined, a whole new avenue of conversation will open up.

 

[johndiver999]

Someone mentioned here that some member(s) of the crew did a very late night dive, has that been verified at all? If true, I wonder if the crew would have typically begun charging their lights as well right after the dive.

Not sure if that is relevant, but it seems like we have only questions and few answers and every little bit of
information might be useful to the right people.

 

[Akimbo]

I hope divers take some of these lessons home since we all live in infernos that are just waiting to happen.

• There's still knob & tube wiring out there
• People smoke in bed
• Charge huge lithium batteries in their attached garage (electric cars and plug-in hybrids)... right next to a tank of gasoline, cans of paint thinner, and a propane bottle for the BBQ
• Don't have fire extinguishers in their kitchens
• Don't have code compliant smoke detectors in their grandfathered residences
• Arrange headboards that partially block emergency egress windows
• Apply for variances so they don't have to install fire sprinklers
• Never consider fire resistance of home furnishings
• Have never inspected their dryer vents
• Have no idea that oily rags and paper towels can spontaneously combust
• Still use extension cords that their puppies chewed on
• Cut the ground prong off power plugs
• Stack firewood against their house

 

[Dirty Mac]

Someone mentioned here that some member(s) of the crew did a very late night dive, has that been verified at all? If true, I wonder if the crew would have typically begun charging their lights as well right after the dive.

Not sure if that is relevant, but it seems like we have only questions and few answers and every little bit of
information might be useful to the right people.

This is actually something that's been bothering me as well. The only thing I've seen are some statements that there had been a night dive. There has been no definitive statement I'm aware of, that it was the crew making that night dive after the passengers had retired for the night. Yet many posts have made that assumption with negative connotations. Whereas my assumption is that the statement refers to the passengers having made a night dive that evening....no time for the dive has ever been given.

 

[JackD342]

This is actually something that's been bothering me as well. The only thing I've seen are some statements that there had been a night dive. There has been no definitive statement I'm aware of, that it was the crew making that night dive after the passengers had retired for the night. Yet many posts have made that assumption with negative connotations. Whereas my assumption is that the statement refers to the passengers having made a night dive that evening....no time for the dive has ever been given.

I can’t go back and find it, too many posts. But my recollection is that I twice read quotes saying the customers had done a night dive, and only later the idea of the crew doing a night dive crept in as “I thought I heard” rather than an actual knowledgeable assertion. Nothing to say both couldn’t have occurred.