Diving boat fire near Santa Cruz Island leads to tragic loss of life

7 Responses

1. I managed to get ahold of a deck plan for Conception. There are the stairs forward, and a hatch aft in the bunk room. It looks like both required exits from the bunk room went through the galley area. If the fire started in the galley area, and it was fully engulfed by the time people woke up, their only exit would be into the flames. It seems to me that the requirement that there be two exits should be modified that each exit empties into separate spaces or onto the deck. Having both exits empty into the area that is most likely to have a fire (galley) is flawed at best.

   1. I absolutely agree

2. A CREW MEMBER SHOULD STAY AWAKE IN THE GALLEY ALL NIGHT…

3. If there was an explosion on board, it does not sound like it started in the galley unless the appliances are gas fired, i.e. propane. The galley in most vessels like Conception are electric, and to power these appliances there must be a diesel generator to handle the load. So if was an explosion in the middle of the night it would lead me to think that a generator was running and had a mechanical failure that lead to a high enough temperature to ignite the fuel supply, maybe locked pump or bearing failure. Whatever the cause it seems that if there are people below decks that can be trapped all potential fire hazards have to be eliminated. No running gensets, electrical systems turned off at the source, breaker panel.And maybe an escape hatch that does not lead through the vessel. Everything should be turned off when every one is asleep.
   The layout on this boat is the same as most large charter boats in Southern Cal. Something needs to be changed.

4. Although the Santa Cruz/Conception boat fire event likely progressed more rapidly than could have been mitigated due to a host of facts, this tragedy serves as a clarion call to governmental leaders for enhancements to the fire defensive posture by local/state government in California and State Fire Training/State Fire Marshal to develop a modern training curriculum for marine firefighting. This could be used as a platform for agencies tasked with legitimate jurisdictional authority for marine firefighting duties to begin to deploy adequate and capable resources needed for vessel fires so as to properly protect human life.

   1. While it is noble to proclaim that marine fire fighting training be improved, no fire rescue boat could have saved any lives in this situation. The boat was engulfed in flames and lives lost long before any boat could arrive. The solution, therefore, lies in the prevention of this tragedy.
      All accidents are caused by a series of events, we must outline these and break this chain, if we are to prevent reoccurrence.

      1. The solution lies in a comprehensive approach to the protection of people who may find themselves in an unfamiliar environment during an emergency. Simply proclaiming prevention as a solution fails to understand the nature of emergencies in general.
         Research suggests that there is no such thing as an “accident,” only a series of events not properly addressed that lead to unintended outcome. While this situation was likely overwhelming for the passengers it is also as likely that standards are available that may have prevented this unfortunate event. However, one standard that does not exist is a benchmark on marine firefighting for agencies tasked with firefighting duties in California. Due to the myriad of challenges on a vessel, i.e., combustible structure, confined space hazards, redundant electrical systems, and vessels loaded with combustible and flammable liquids serve to create daunting challenges for even the most seasoned fire fighter. This must change if adequate capability is the desired result.
         Because there are numerous boats already built, and jurisdictional authority complicates a reliable fire prevention approach it is unlikely that this approach alone will have the intended influence in the near term.