Fire on dive boat Conception in CA

[scubadada]

...I definitely do know that on the Nautilus there was not only a thorough safety briefing but an actual all hands and passengers fire drill on every trip, with full evacuation protocols, mustering stations, crew and passenger count-off, crew donning full fire fighting gear with SCBA's, etc...

I was recently on the Nautilus Explorer. The emergency hatch exit from the lower deck cabins was right next to my room, I was in one of the single cabins in the bow, 1B. It was pointed out to all divers on the safety orientation. This is exactly how all orientations should take place.

 

[swamp diver]

No, I don't believe so. I'm quite certain these boats used a nitrox stick system with a compressor. I'm sure they had emergency O2 but not storage banks. I can't completely discount the possibility that there were RB divers with their own bottles onboard but that doesn't seem too likely given the charterer.

Well if they had a nitrox stick they would have had to have large oxygen storage bottles on board to feed the compressor intake. Where was the compressor located on the boat because those tanks would likely be nearby if that was the case.

 

[Compressor]

Please have respect for the people affected by this tragedy. Remember that we cannot assume that all life has been lost. There is a lot of hope to save even more souls. We don't have all the facts.

 

[markmud]

Would there have been nitrox or large O2 bottles stored on this boat? If so where?

Hi swamp diver,

No, the Truth Aquatics boats were equipped with NuVair membrane systems about 4 years ago. Membrane systems separate nitrogen from oxygen--from ambient air on a demand basis. It is not banked on their vessels (or was not banked). The only pure O2 that probably would be on a Truth boat would be a Dan Kit and for staged decompression by tech divers in point-of-use tanks.

The above information was explained to me on Truth boats by Truth crewmembers.

markm

 

[HalcyonDaze]

GRP hulls and cabins will burn, but they are not kindling. How it got so bad so fast seems like one of the questions that will have to be answered.

That seems to be the main question that needs to be answered. If the boat goes up like a blowtorch in a matter of seconds at 3 am when everyone's asleep, evacuation procedures may be a moot point.

 

[opisthobranch]

Well if they had a nitrox stick they would have had to have large oxygen storage bottles on board to feed the compressor intake. Where was the compressor located on the boat because those tanks would likely be nearby if that was the case.

Err. I meant membrane. Sorry.

 

[azstinger11]

Latest press release (4PM Pacific 2 Sept) can be found here: LIVE: Local authorities give updates on deadly boat fire

 

[Ravenware]

="DrMack, I worked on tuna clippers in the north Pacific around the dateline in my youth and these SoCal liveaboards remind me more of the commercial fishing vessels I worked on than they do the typical international liveaboards like the Aggressor fleet. It's too bad that vessels like Conception and the luxury operators get lumped into the same category in the popular press because we in the dive community refer to them both as liveaboards. The rack spaces on the Truth fleet look more like USN enlisted quarters whereas the international liveaboards offer private cabins a la O4+ quarters. It's obviously just a microeconomics trade-off between the two business models so I don't blame the operators. After all, the market demand for the bunk style vessels does signal the need for the supply, but does that trade-off include safety?

I have been on long haul live aboards, and short haul, 1-3 nights. The Truth boats found a niche, there are many wonderful dive sites around the Channel Islands, but they are far apart, and it takes hours to get to the island chain from Santa Barbara, so they came up with this model which has served 450,000 divers over the years. Myself included. The model is this, get on the boat in Santa Barbara on Friday night, eat dinner, go to bed, wake up the next morning at a dive site. Move to a couple more on Saturday, then sleep Saturday night and wake up In a different location. Normal trip is only 2 days, you are back in Santa Barbara Sunday night. So, you can see, they do not compete with your standard week or 2 week long live aboards. Because of the 3 day weekend, this trip was 3 days, and they would have been back in Santa Barbara tonight. Truth Aquatics is a professional organization that is a key element of the diving community in California, they participate in numerous education programs and give back to the community. The boat was clean, the food good, the staff well trained, and our bunk was a double bed, of which there are 20. Crowded, yes, like any boat. For the $500 or so I paid for the trip, I felt it was a great deal. The coast guard says the boat was in full compliance after Feb. inspection. So, until we know facts, I think it would be safer to not jump to conclusions, or make comparisons that do not apply. Just my thought on the matter.

 

[BDSC]

GRP hulls and cabins will burn, but they are not kindling. How it got so bad so fast seems like one of the questions that will have to be answered.

And most likely they will be able to determine exactly what happened.

Before retiring, I worked in a failure analysis lab and my close friend now works for a company that specializes in fire accidents. I have been to his lab and seen vehicles that were completely gutted by fire. Some burned and charred almost beyond recognition. But those guys can go through every piece of evidence, no matter how small and seemingly insignificant, and come up with the exact cause of the fire.

 

[KevinNM]

Here's a description of a fiberglass yacht fire, from the captain who was awoken at 4am by someone screaming 'fire fire fire'. This is not the dive boat in question, but some idea how fast they can burn.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xD4jVO3x_E&feature=youtu.be&t=394