Fire on dive boat Conception in CA

[SandyRobinson]

we may all be resourceful and competent. If you’r stuck in that hole with 35 others and escape routes are blocked, panic etc. all resourcefulness will not help you...

I apologize if this has been mentioned but it will be interesting if we hear where the bodies were located upon recovery - if they were in their bunks or closer to the exit(s). Even then I do not know how much the bodies would move while the boat was sinking. RIP all

 

[Akimbo]

I apologize if this has been mentioned but it will be interesting if we hear where the bodies were located upon recovery - if they were in their bunks or closer to the exit(s).

The smoking hulk capsized not long after the fire was out, the sides of the hull had huge holes burned through, and everything above and including the main deck was vaporized. It isn't likely that bunks were left, let alone their occupants. Evidence is going to be very hard to come by.

 

[Hiszpan]

If the fire originated in the bunk area, that could explain people there getting incapacitated at sleep with toxic fumes and unable to evacuate. Could also help to explain why ship was full ablaze before crew on top deck even noticed.
Reporting galley on fire does not exclude it getting on fire from below.
Would nobody even try to exit through galley wrapped with coats/blankets/whatever else was there, had they been conscious?
Just my thoughts so far after reading all the posts so far...

 

[KevinNM]

If the fire originated in the bunk area, that could explain people there getting incapacitated at sleep with toxic fumes and unable to evacuate. Could also help to explain why ship was full ablaze before crew on top deck even noticed.
Reporting galley on fire does not exclude it getting on fire from below.
Would nobody even try to exit through galley wrapped with coats/blankets/whatever else was there, had they been conscious?
Just my thoughts so far after reading all the posts so far...

Once it is fully engulfed I doubt you could make very far past the stairs. These usually get hot enough to melt aluminum. So people might have tried, but if they didn’t get very far the crew wouldn’t know.

 

[Hiszpan]

"One of the crew members aboard the dive boat Conception hadn’t been asleep long when a noise jolted him awake.

He swung open the door of the wheelhouse — the top level of the 75-foot boat, located just above the galley — and was greeted by flames."

That passage from LA Times...does it mean he was the first person to notice the fire? It would look like as he was woken up by the noise and not by other crew member who was at watch...very confusing.

 

[hammet]

Hi Eric,

Not much. The vessel is designed to have as few ignition sources as possible. Unfortunately, it is full of possible electrical ignition sources. If the wiring or circuit breaker systems are not functioning correctly, that could become a heat source.

Wookie can give better facts regarding the USCG requirements for wiring USCG inspected vessels. For one thing, the cabling must have a fire rating, such as 18 minutes.

Most fires on vessels originate in the galley or machinery spaces. I believe one of the generators on Conception was around 50KW. That is a lot of juice. Diesel engines can have exhaust gas temperatures above 1,000 degrees F.

Diesel fuel has a relatively high flash point. It requires a significant heat source for ignition.

Battery systems. Yeah, it is electrical.

The propane barbecue system. But it requires a heat source. And, I am assuming that it was secured properly and not functioning.

The gas for the Zodiac. But this requires a heat source.

Smoking.

I have a friend who owns an investigative firm. He investigates mostly insurance casualties. Most of the evidence he has stored in his shop is fire damaged electrical products.

Most of the people who have opined as to the root cause of this incident are blaming some sort of electrical device--mostly batteries or their chargers. They are probably correct. It is a safe bet.

m

There are boatloads pun intended of places for electrical shorts... made much worse on an older vessel where saltwater corrosion is an ever present problem.

The ABYC standards are available but not enforced or inspected by the USCG. Insurance companies may or may not require inspections or surveys that may reflect ABYC standards.

 

[Akimbo]

There have been a number of posts implying that the bunkroom arrangement on the Conception was dangerous and unprecedented. The vast majority of vessels under 30M/100' around the world have the same basic layout -- bunks and staterooms forward, the sole primary/normal exit through the galley/solon area, and engineering spaces aft. The USCG and most marine certification agencies around the world require at least one small emergency hatch. In practice they are primarily used for ventilation in port. This is true for dive and fishing charter boats, sail boats, commercial fishing boats, crew boats, and leisure boats.

It is understandable that people who are unfamiliar with the marine industry might assume that large watertight egress hatches should be standard, until you weigh the very real possibility of hatch failure in heavy seas and suddenly there is a giant hole on the main deck with green water washing over it. Inevitably, every "safety system" can introduce potentially dangerous failure modes, especially in salt water environments.

Ill-informed knee-jerk solutions by committee are never a good idea. It is probably a good thing that the investigation will take a couple of years so mandated changes are well considered rather than in response to political pressure to "do something" (no matter how stupid).

 

[outofofficebrb]

Just saw the comments in the news today about the escape hatch. The investigators should remember that divers as a group are competent and resourceful people. I think if any one person in the bunk room was awake enough to smell smoke they would've yelled out to the room. If the stairs were flaming, out of 30 or so people SOMEONE would've known about the escape hatch, since there were repeaters on board. The noxious fumes analysis is scary beyond belief. Love and strength to the crew.

Knowing about it would not have been enough. They would need to be able to 1) come to and orient themselves from sleep and understand what is happening 2) locate it in the dark with smoke and fire along with a lot of panic from many people in tight quarters - imagine everyone jumping and rolling out of the bunks into the walkways all at once running and 3) physically evacuate through the hatch given the prior 2 points. In times of emergency, we can be different people and not think as clearly and carefully like divers are trained.

I mentioned this in a previous post but without a doubt, even with no emergency and just as a demonstration for others by myself in a well lit room and no time pressure, I would find it difficult to go through that hatch. It takes a bit of contortion and shimmying and I am not large by any means, only 5'4" and 130-135 lbs. If anyone had any injuries, that would have made the ask/task even more difficult. Now imagine the above scenario with 30+ desperate, panicked people behind you with flames and smoke everywhere and the threat of loss of life and having to go one by one.

 

[Scuba-74]

"One of the crew members aboard the dive boat Conception hadn’t been asleep long when a noise jolted him awake.

He swung open the door of the wheelhouse — the top level of the 75-foot boat, located just above the galley — and was greeted by flames."

That passage from LA Times...does it mean he was the first person to notice the fire? It would look like as he was woken up by the noise and not by other crew member who was at watch...very confusing.

That passage bothered me too, a lot. I’m assuming the person who said that wasn’t the one on watch... which leads to the question, why the article quotes him, and not the one who was on watch?

 

[outofofficebrb]

There have been a number of posts implying that the bunkroom arrangement on the Conception was dangerous and unprecedented. The vast majority of vessels under 30M/100' around the world have the same basic layout -- bunks and staterooms forward, the sole primary/normal exit through the galley/solon area, and engineering spaces aft. The USCG and most marine certification agencies around the world require at least one small emergency hatch. In practice they are primarily used for ventilation in port. This is true for dive and fishing charter boats, sail boats, commercial fishing boats, crew boats, and leisure boats.

I do not believe I am one of the posters who have implied this and if I have, that was not my intention. You do bring about a good point and it is true, the basic layout is the same. I have also observed this with many liveaboards. Now that you mention it, I do have an honest question about the similarities or differences and it is not to question the arrangement on the Conception but out of curiosity. Even though the general layout is the same, is the density of passengers comparable given a particular square feet/meters in the sleeping quarters?

Fire can decimate any boat and it can occur to any boat, anywhere. I think it is somewhat relevant to the available exit routes in a given space.