gddiver
New
I signed up on ScubaBoard about a week ago just to comment on this tragedy. I struggled with just what to say and by the time I figured it out most of it has already been said. Anthias conveyed most of my thoughts quite well. Also, speculation about causes and blame cannot, at this point, do more than just hurt those already in pain. With that being said there are a couple of things I would like to comment on. I was part of a group of eight that was on the Red Sea Aggressor 1 three weeks before the fire.
The crew definitely was aware of the Conception fire. One of the first things one of our members asked about was escape routes and the crew mentioned that everybody now wanted this information because of the fire on the Conception. All of our group, except me, then proceeded to try out the escape hatch and mentioned that they had to work to get the hatch open because it was partially blocked by a mattress.
We asked about a fire watch and were assured that there was alway at least one person patrolling the boat. This was confirmed by one of our members who has problems sleeping and therefore roamed the boat at all hours. The patrol was roving so at any given time they might be anywhere on the vessel. All crew members except the cooks and dive crew rotated this responsibility.
We were at St. Johns when a member of our group became ill and a decision was made to evacuate him. When he was taken ashore a crew member accompanied him. He could not be treated in the town that he landed and had to be transported to Marsa Alam by ambulance. The crew member was not allowed to accompany him in the ambulance but an Aggressor representative met him in Marsa Alam and stayed with him throughout his treatment. We were kept informed throughout the process and could not have asked for more support from the crew.
The camera table was, as several have remembered, outside on the dive deck. However, although the website states that American style plugs can be used, it turned out the the ones on the dive deck would accept only the European style. Because of this there was the usual daisy chain inside the salon. Since the fire appeared to have started inside the boat, probably in the salon area (Anthias, #425) I thought it might have been caused by the coffee pot that was in that area. However, one of our members is an inspector of such things and says that he noticed the way the appliance were wired and considered it highly unlikely.
Several posters have commented on the lack of maintenance on the boat. I am far from a live aboard expert, having been on only eight different boats so far, but it seemed to me to be well maintained. You can see from the schedule on the Aggressor site that both Red Sea Aggressors are out of service in January and February and I read somewhere that all the Red Sea boats are out because of the weather. The website says they are in dry dock so there is certainly the opportunity to do major maintenance at this time. One might consider that by the end of November the boats have been in constant use since the end of February and might have deferred maintenance issues. However, things like a flush button that had to be pressed twice as in one of the heads while we were on board, are hardly serious safety matters and could expect to be fixed while the boat was out of service.
The fire was a disaster. For the friends and family of the diver who lost her life I can offer only my condolences, as hollow as that sounds. The other passengers are traumatized and understandably are angry and looking for answers that may not be forthcoming. We should also remember that this was a disaster for the crew. Even if one or more of them is culpable, which is not yet clear, all of them suffer from the loss of their livelihood and have the threat of criminal prosecution hanging over them. Without diminishing the trauma of the survivors and the family and friends of the deceased I feel for them also.
In the interest of full disclosure, I led the group and received a free trip. I cannot remember the last time I worked so hard for something that was free.
As an aside and a funny coincidence, on the last night of our trip, on our way home we were awakened by a horrible screeching siren at 3:00 AM. It took a few minutes to realize that a fire alarm was going off but eventually it sank in. First I touched the door to our room, it was cool, and then went and looked out on our balcony, the way was clear and there was no indication of smoke or fire. We calmly but quickly got dressed and went down the stairs only to find out that another guest had been stir frying at 3:00 AM and set off the smoke alarm. When we got back to our room I realized that we had done one thing right. Before we went to bed we had put our passports, medications and a dive light in a backpack that I was able to grab and carry with us. At least we realized that, whenever we are not at home, a go bag is a good idea.
The crew definitely was aware of the Conception fire. One of the first things one of our members asked about was escape routes and the crew mentioned that everybody now wanted this information because of the fire on the Conception. All of our group, except me, then proceeded to try out the escape hatch and mentioned that they had to work to get the hatch open because it was partially blocked by a mattress.
We asked about a fire watch and were assured that there was alway at least one person patrolling the boat. This was confirmed by one of our members who has problems sleeping and therefore roamed the boat at all hours. The patrol was roving so at any given time they might be anywhere on the vessel. All crew members except the cooks and dive crew rotated this responsibility.
We were at St. Johns when a member of our group became ill and a decision was made to evacuate him. When he was taken ashore a crew member accompanied him. He could not be treated in the town that he landed and had to be transported to Marsa Alam by ambulance. The crew member was not allowed to accompany him in the ambulance but an Aggressor representative met him in Marsa Alam and stayed with him throughout his treatment. We were kept informed throughout the process and could not have asked for more support from the crew.
The camera table was, as several have remembered, outside on the dive deck. However, although the website states that American style plugs can be used, it turned out the the ones on the dive deck would accept only the European style. Because of this there was the usual daisy chain inside the salon. Since the fire appeared to have started inside the boat, probably in the salon area (Anthias, #425) I thought it might have been caused by the coffee pot that was in that area. However, one of our members is an inspector of such things and says that he noticed the way the appliance were wired and considered it highly unlikely.
Several posters have commented on the lack of maintenance on the boat. I am far from a live aboard expert, having been on only eight different boats so far, but it seemed to me to be well maintained. You can see from the schedule on the Aggressor site that both Red Sea Aggressors are out of service in January and February and I read somewhere that all the Red Sea boats are out because of the weather. The website says they are in dry dock so there is certainly the opportunity to do major maintenance at this time. One might consider that by the end of November the boats have been in constant use since the end of February and might have deferred maintenance issues. However, things like a flush button that had to be pressed twice as in one of the heads while we were on board, are hardly serious safety matters and could expect to be fixed while the boat was out of service.
The fire was a disaster. For the friends and family of the diver who lost her life I can offer only my condolences, as hollow as that sounds. The other passengers are traumatized and understandably are angry and looking for answers that may not be forthcoming. We should also remember that this was a disaster for the crew. Even if one or more of them is culpable, which is not yet clear, all of them suffer from the loss of their livelihood and have the threat of criminal prosecution hanging over them. Without diminishing the trauma of the survivors and the family and friends of the deceased I feel for them also.
In the interest of full disclosure, I led the group and received a free trip. I cannot remember the last time I worked so hard for something that was free.
As an aside and a funny coincidence, on the last night of our trip, on our way home we were awakened by a horrible screeching siren at 3:00 AM. It took a few minutes to realize that a fire alarm was going off but eventually it sank in. First I touched the door to our room, it was cool, and then went and looked out on our balcony, the way was clear and there was no indication of smoke or fire. We calmly but quickly got dressed and went down the stairs only to find out that another guest had been stir frying at 3:00 AM and set off the smoke alarm. When we got back to our room I realized that we had done one thing right. Before we went to bed we had put our passports, medications and a dive light in a backpack that I was able to grab and carry with us. At least we realized that, whenever we are not at home, a go bag is a good idea.