Fire on dive boat Conception in CA

[Ron Lee]

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.

My recollection of his comment may not be 100%. Apparently there was no reference to an explosion during the initial mayday radio call. There could have been explosions from other items during the fire.

 

[Scuba Lawyer]

 

[Ron Lee]

Is it really true that there was no propane on board? My first ASSUMPTION would be to suspect propane.

I have no idea. Reportedly any propane has special requirements/restrictions and if present may have only been used for a grill of some sort.

I have lit a propane grill with an excess of propane present before the match ignited the gas. The flare up was a very short duration (fraction of a second).

I am skeptical that a propane cloud that ignited would have set the boat on fire had it been on the upper deck area. I have no proof that I am right. It is just a gut suspicion.

In the photo above of the boat on fire, any idea how long after the fire started that the picture was taken?

There appear to be windows close to the water on the side. Are those part of the passenger sleeping area?

 

[tehach]

Video of the firefighting from one of the first responders. Fire damage appears to be worse in the foreward third of the hull.

 

[broncobowsher]

Another click bait line was in the news. The coast guard asking the crew to unlock the door to let them out. There was no lock on the door. The coast guard knows nothing about the details of how the boat is built or operated. It was an interpretation off the radio call and trying to calmly help via blind remote control. Often all it takes is someone calmly asking to do something simple to solve a chaotic problem. Of course the news took that line, clipped it completely out of context, and aired it. Making it sound like people were locked in the cabins from the outside and that is why they can't get out.

 

[broncobowsher]

I have no idea. Reportedly any propane has special requirements/restrictions and if present may have only been used for a grill of some sort.

I have lit a propane grill with an excess of propane present before the match ignited the gas. The flare up was a very short duration (fraction of a second).

I am skeptical that a propane cloud that ignited would have set the boat on fire had it been on the upper deck area. I have no proof that I am right. It is just a gut suspicion.

In the photo above of the boat on fire, any idea how long after the fire started that the picture was taken?

There appear to be windows close to the water on the side. Are those part of the passenger sleeping area?

Those are not windows, those are holes burned through.

 

[diverrex]

[QUOTE="Ron Lee, post: 8742421, member: 195158"

There appear to be windows close to the water on the side. Are those part of the passenger sleeping area?[/QUOTE]


There are no windows in the sleeping area. There are no windows near the waterline.

 

[Larryjd1]

So in order to exit bunk room in an emergency, potentially 40+ people would have to either line up to go up the staircase one at a time, and then walk/run the full length of the galley to go out on deck, or climb the two upper bunks (that would be occupied to begin with) and then merge in order to exit through a small square hole. A have to say, this is just an awful design.

The stairwell was wide enough for two people side by side, although that may not be how people would exit in an emergency anyway.

And while it probably would be better to have an exit directly to the outside, rather than through the galley, I think the capacity to exit was similar to an airliner evacuating a couple of hundred or people through a limited number of exits - some of which may also not be accessible.

I think the bigger questions that will need to be answered are what would have caused the fire to spread so rapidly, and what happened that there was not enough warning in the early stages for the people in the bunk room to exit before it became so widespread.

 

[johndiver999]

A large stairwell leading from the open deck to below, would be a recipe for sinking the boat. I think you would need the stairway to exit into a protected cabin.

 

[Bob DBF]

I have no idea. Reportedly any propane has special requirements/restrictions and if present may have only been used for a grill of some sort.

As I remember, the BBQ is electric, but it's been a while since I was onboard.

There appear to be windows close to the water on the side. Are those part of the passenger sleeping area?

It's just how the hull is burning, structure of the boat and reinforced areas burn through slower.

And while it probably would be better to have an exit directly to the outside...

The Truth has the stairs coming out at the aft end of the lounge / galley at the opening to the aft deck.


Bob