Smoking on balcony

[MBP&O2/O]

The smoking regs are there for a purpose.

I am slightly biased on this one.
I was a deck officer on oil tankers.

Smoking regs / safety issues etc. were stringently enforced.

This was obviously for safety and it had nothing to do with the comestic aspect of the impregnation / lingering stink of stale tobacco in the accommodations.

At sea you were allowed to smoke inside, behind closed doors and windows and never EVER on deck.
In port the whole crew was restricted to smoking in one room only ......... talk about passive smoking😁

Flaunting the regs was invariably a sacking offence. One lad was dismissed for smoking on the poop deck and flicking his smouldering tab end overboard. The offending object was caught in the wind and landed back on deck. A scenario which could occur on a cruise ship balcony.

Imagine a ciggy landing on someone who was sunbathing on their balcony 😄🤔

[Hlitner]

On 11/3/2023 at 6:39 AM, chengkp75 said:

And, again, I will say that the Star Princess fire was not proved to be from a cigarette.

 

..........

As you are aware, although not fully proven, the conclusion of the UK Marine investigation was written as follows:

"The fire started on an external stateroom balcony sited on deck 10 in the centre of main vertical zone 3, on the vessel’s port side. It was probably caused by a discarded cigarette end heating combustible materials on a balcony, which smouldered for about 20 minutes before flames developed."

 

Having spent a few years as an active volunteer firefighter, I saw enough post fire investigations to understand that many fire causes are best guesses by experts (based on years of experience).  

 

As a direct result of this disaster (there was loss of life and extensive damage to the vessel), Princess refitted all of their vessels with outdoor fire detectors on the balconies.  The unfortunate thing about these detectors is that they are only triggered by excessive heat, not cigarette or other smoke,

 

Hank

 

[chengkp75]

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

As you are aware, although not fully proven, the conclusion of the UK Marine investigation was written as follows:

And I am also fully aware that under laboratory conditions, the investigators were not able to reconstruct the fire using a towel from Princess and a smoldering cigarette.  The major outcome of this fire was that all cruise ships were required to outfit the balconies with fire retardant dividers, furniture, and flooring.

[CruiserBruce]

And the type of detection system used met appropriate codes, I am sure. Using smoke only, heat rise only, or combination detection types are determined by the environmental conditions the detector must operate in. 

 

And that is from a 35 year fire service career.