Fire on dive boat Conception in CA

[Aggie Diver]

Missed that, but even more alarming. The deck was incredibly stacked against anyone getting out.

 

[doctormike]

You've been on a boat just like it, Mike. Spree was patterned (by the original owner) after the California liveaboards. I felt that a crew of 5 couldn't properly service 34 divers, and cut back to 24. But except for the sleeping on the floor, same same.

Was waiting for you to chime in, yours is one of the few opinions that I care about here... And I was trying to remember the layout of the Spree.

So what do you think about that emergency egress? Did the Spree have it in the same place? Same configuration, marking, lighting, etc..? Did this boat really have that egress lead to a cabinet?

 

[Storker]

My take is that once you start referring to them and treating them as water taxis, they monetize the cheapness.

A taxi is something that takes you from A to B, no other services provided.

That doesn't mean that an op who takes you from A to B with no other services provided shouldn't provide proper safety during the ride.

 

[Wookie]

aa's don't bother me, charging lithium video lights, scooters, lights etc do. They should never be charged unattended.

At the end of my time owning Spree, we had to throw away one battery and charger most trips. When they started to smell bad, I never hesitated to throw them over the side. We didn't have a fire, but we did have some mad folks.

 

[Wookie]

A taxi is something that takes you from A to B, no other services provided.

That doesn't mean that an op who takes you from A to B with no other services provided shouldn't provide proper safety during the ride.

Exactly. Taxis have seat belts and obey the speed limit.

 

[Storker]

Taxis ought to have have seat belts and ought to obey the speed limit.

FTFY

 

[cathycalg]

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.

The 24 hour news cycle is indeed a vicious beast. Officials and reporters pressured for more information and stories, ASAP! Facts may get twisted up in the frenzy of it all, but I still don’t believe the mainstream media outlets “make up” things.
The whole scenario was absolutely horrendous and the families of the victims have my deepest condolences.

 

[Matt S.]

Maybe start charging the lithium batteries in those fire and explosion proof bags?

I have some R/C toys and the use of such bags is ubiquitous. I would not call them explosion-proof, but they definitely provide a fire barrier. I always use one.

R/C people also beat up their batteries... fast and deep discharges. Possibly too deep, if you aren't careful. Much of this gear is cheap and lacks a good battery cutoff. And the more abused a battery is, the less safe it is to charge it. Even so, battery fires remain uncommon in the hobby... but not unheard of.

This story gave me a sad small world moment: a friend of a friend was on the boat. It's horrifying.

 

[Wookie]

Is it possible that they had a back up generator running on gasoline, for example?

No. Not if they were following regulations. They were allowed to store gasoline in the dinghy (which did not catch fire) and have an additional supply on the open deck.

 

[Louisville Diver]

Death trap.

Once you've gotten lucky in the dark, made your way to the bunk and opened the unmarked, unlit hatch while on your knees, you turn around on your knees until you face the open part and haul your body through in a prone position on the floor.

Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.

I suppose you then stay to help haul anyone else through that contraption. Call it "the buddy system for a shipboard fire emergency".

As I am given to understand, it's the breezy, go-it-alone California diver way, and the rest of us just don't get the idea of the cost savings of it.