A fireplace erupted on the balcony of a visitor cabin on the Pacific Adventure cruise ship round 3:15 A.M. yesterday (Australian time) off the coast of New South Wales. The P&O Cruises’ cruise ship was carrying over 3,000 friends and a crew of over 1,000.
Newspapers reported that many friends had been compelled to evacuate from their cabins because the crew labored to extinguish the blaze. Accounts vary that from a number of a whole bunch to over a thousand friends had been displaced.
As traditional, a cruise line spokesperson claimed that the fireplace was “small” and “quickly extinguished.” Numerous newspaper repeated the “small and quickly extinguished” fireplace mantra. There had been no studies of harm to the friends or crew members. P&O didn’t disclose the reason for the fireplace.
There are conflicting studies concerning the extent of the fireplace. Some newspapers report that the fireplace broken just one cabin whereas different sources declare that quite a few cabins had been broken.
History Repeats Itself?
Based on feedback by an nameless visitor, Cruise Mapper studies that the “fire broke out on a cabin balcony reportedly, caused by a lit cigarette . . . ” If so, this was additionally probably the most possible reason behind the origin of lethal fireplace on the Star Princess cruise ship in 2006. That explicit fireplace started on a balcony and unfold into the adjoining cabin after which continued to burn all through the ship.
There is No “Small Fire” at Sea
Many folks have steered that the fireplace on the Pacific Adventure wasn’t critical as a result of it was characterised as “small” and “quickly extinguished.” This is what the cruise line and its commerce group need you to consider. Of course, each fireplace on the excessive seas begins out small and is doubtlessly very critical.
Does the Pacific Adventure Have Fire Detection and Suppression Systems in its Balconies?
The necessary concern is whether or not the balcony in query was outfitted with a “fixed pressure water-spraying and fixed fire detection and fire alarm systems,” as required by amendments to the SOLAS laws.
These amendments to SOLAS happened after the fireplace aboard the Star Princess which burned over 100 cabins after a flicked cigarette caught a towel on a passenger balcony on fireplace. The UK’s Maritime Accident Investigations Branch (MAIB) was crucial of the truth that the balcony chairs and balcony partitions had been extremely flamable and brought about heavy, poisonous smoke. None of the balconies on the Star Princess had warmth or smoke detectors or sprinkler techniques.
We represented the household of Richard Liffridge who died within the fireplace. After his demise, Princess stated that it put in mounted sprinkler and fireplace detection techniques on the balconies of its fleet of cruise ships.
Has the Cruise Industry Learned Anything?
Mr. Liffridge’s daughter later went aboard the Star Princess and inspected the balcony and fireplace detection techniques. You can examine that right here, Ten Years of Cruise Ship Fires – Has the Cruise Industry Learned Anything? She testified earlier than Congress concerning the necessity for all cruise ships to be outfitted with balcony fireplace detection and suppression techniques.
However, when the International Maritime Organization (IMO) amended SOLAS, it didn’t require all cruise ships to put in balcony fireplace techniques. It waived the requirement the place the cruise line balcony furnishings and furnishings had been of “restricted fire risk.”
Other than Princess, few cruise strains will publicly state whether or not their ships are retrofitted with balcony sprinkler techniques or whether or not the newly constructed cruise ships (after July 1, 2008) are outfitted with such security options.
Do all the 95 or so cruise ships owned by Carnival Corporation, and operated by its quite a few manufacturers together with P&O Australia, have fireplace detection, alarm and suppression techniques on the passenger balconies? Have any Carnival-owned cruise ships constructed earlier than July 1, 2008 been retrofitted with fireplace detection and suppression techniques apart from the Princess fleet? How about different cruise strains? Have some cruise strains simply changed the balcony partitions and furnishings with much less flamable (and fewer toxic-when-burned) substances and deck coverings?
The fundamental query is did the Pacific Adventure have fireplace detection and suppression techniques for its balconies? P&O representatives haven’t talked about this concern and the media, sadly, is simply parroting the deceptive “small and quickly extinguished” fireplace narrative.
Perform Your Own 30-Second Investigation of Your Cruise Balcony
If you’re crusing on the Pacific Adventure now, take a second and exit on the balcony and look to see whether it is outfitted with sprinkler pipes and a valve, in addition to warmth and/or smoke detection techniques. They are straightforward to identify if they’ve been put in.
In the {photograph} under, you’ll be able to see our consumer mentioning the sprinkler valve (along with her proper hand) and the smoke/warmth detector (along with her left hand). Does your cabin’s balcony have this fundamental gear put in?
Please ship me an e-mail, or depart a touch upon our Facebook web page, letting me know the outcomes of your thirty-second investigation. We additionally counsel taking a photograph of the balcony overhead area. You must also ask the cruise line for a solution to the easy sure or no questions: (1) does the balcony have a sprinkler valve, and (2) does the balcony have a smoke/warmth alarm? (I’d not maintain my breath ready for a solution). Thanks!
Have a remark or query? Please depart one under or be a part of the dialogue on our Facebook web page.
In Memory of Richard Liffridge, March 11, 1934 – March 23, 2006