Fire on dive boat Conception in CA

[yle]

What do you think the media wants us to believe? And why would the media want us to believe anything other than the truth?? Just curious.

It's maybe not what they "want" us to believe, but more of what the media circus, in their rush to be the first to post the latest update, will get wrong. Case in point: I just watched the Santa Barbara Sheriff's 4pm press conference. The sheriff, after a very long and stressful day, was taking questions. One of the questions was about accounting for the people on board. The sheriff said there were 39 on board, 4 bodies had been recovered and 4 were found on the seafloor. So, he stated, there were 31 unaccounted for.

Several minutes later the numbers were revisited and the sheriff corrected himself: 5 people survived, so just 26 (not 31) were unaccounted for.

People say things, people hear things, and we try to get things right... but overworked officials trying to convey information to reporters in a rush to post their stories can sometimes get the facts twisted up.

 

[Compressor]

Oxygen is never flammable at any concentration.

My error. Oxygen is an oxidizer. An oxidizer is a substance that supports combustion. It is part of the fire triangle.

The operator had a nitrox membrane. Oxygen isn’t even a consideration.

Respectfully Disagree.
We need facts which the NTSB will tell us.

 

[yle]

Evening news said the "boat blew up". I hate the news.

Case in point. The sheriff specifically addressed this in the 4pm news conference. He explained there was no indication that the boat "blew up". Whether or not the media circus chooses to believe that remains to be seen.

 

[DrMack]

How the NTSB works: It's known as the "party system". The NTSB itself is a very low staffed agency. Instead of hiring all the expertise directly, the NTSB has the authority of law to draw upon any resource of the society, public or private, as a "party" to the investigation. In essence, they have the authority to commandeer any expertise or investigative resources such as scientific laboratories to conduct their investigations. At the end of the investigation all the parties are dismissed, the full board may conduct a public hearing or two and then the report is written and issued. The NTSB has no authority to enforce its recommendations that it will present in its final report. That is the responsibility, and complete discretion, of the regulating agencies involved. So buckle up for a long ride, probably more than a year, perhaps more. A preliminary report of the facts might come quickly however.

 

[KevinNM]

NTSB seems to take 1-2 years to release their report. For example, the FIU bridge collapse was almost 18 months ago and only a preliminary report has come out. The El Faro sinking was Oct 1 2015 and the final report was December 2017. The USCG hearing on the El Faro was February 2016, so there may well be a Coast Guard hearing that reveals most of the details before the NTBS report.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Condolences can be placed in this area of ScubaBoard.

Regarding your second point, if the operator allowed Nitrox Diving and made nitrox using a partial pressure blend method, then there would be H cylinders of 100% Oxygen. But it does not have to be 100% to be flammable. The fire triad contains oxygen and does not specify concentrations since even lower levels of oxygen can be a fire hazard under the right conditions.

@kafkaland I appreciate your post.

H cylinder: View attachment 538237
Source for picture

Cooking aboard the boat is electric. The Coast Guard does not allow gas stoves.

The fuel is diesel which does not ignite easily.

The divers tanks are filled with air or Nitrox, no Oxygen. All is below 40% which is a safe level. The Nitrox is generated by a Nuvair membrane system. No oxygen is stored for that purpose. The news outlets reporting this as a possible cause are idiots.

There is a small amount of Oxygen stored for first aid use only.

 

[Ravenware]

Well said. The impact of this sad event will touch many.

Thanks for saying it better then me. We in the dive community of course know that the spectrum of dive boat configurations is very broad. We also know that, pardon my Gertrude Stein never said it quote, a liveaboard is a liveaboard is a liveaboard. Unfortunately, the media coverage of this tragedy will not make the distinction that we know exists among the many points between the extremes of the liveaboard vessels and their operations. The safety track record of Truth operations before this tragedy speaks for itself. Anecdotal reports of the competence of the crews and the operation as a whole over many decades also speaks volumes. As divers we will of course be asked by non-diver family and acquaintances what we think about this tragedy. When we reply to them I suggest that it is important that we inform them of the broad nature of this spectrum. We all win when we each do our part to shed the light of truth on our amazing avocation.

 

[hammet]

Cooking aboard the boat is electric. The Coast Guard does not allow gas stoves.

The fuel is diesel which does not ignite easily.

The divers tanks are filled with air or Nitrox, no Oxygen. All is below 40% which is a safe level. The Nitrox is generated by a Nuvair membrane system. No oxygen is stored for that purpose. The news outlets reporting this as a possible cause are idiots.

There is a small amount of Oxygen stored for first aid use only.

please cite

46 CFR § 184.240 - Gas systems.

 

[Ravenware]

What do you think the media wants us to believe? And why would the media want us to believe anything other than the truth?? Just curious.

Click bait. How often does the lede of a story have nothing to do with the story? They sell ads based on number of clicks.

 

[tehach]

Here's an interview with the couple who were onboard The Grape Escape, eyewitnesses to the fire.

At Least 8 Dead, Dozens Missing In Charter Boat Fire Off Ventura County Coast