Balcony Fire Safety - Report

[guernseyguy]

While the Marine Accidents Investigation Branch report into the Star Princess fire is about another line - I guess its also of relevance to the many of us who book balconies on the QM2. It makes for sobering reading:

 

http://www.maib.gov.uk/latest_news/fire_on_board_the_star_princess___maib_issues_safety_bulletin.cfm

 

Peter

[mufi]

This is a modern ship. Aren't they supposed to be far safer than the floating scrap heaps that are still sailing.

 

What is there to burn on a balcony?

 

David.

[guernseyguy]

What is there to burn on a balcony? David.

 

Pretty much all of it....plastic furniture, foam cushions, deck rail, aluminium structure, partitions....there was almost nothing left.....

 

Peter

[Kindlychap]

Pretty much all of it....plastic furniture, foam cushions, deck rail, aluminium structure, partitions....there was almost nothing left.....

 

Peter

 

As I read it the partitions were polycarbonate - which is plastic, is it not?

 

How much difference would it make with a combination of Aluminium structure and wooden furniture? I guess things would be better.....

[garycarla]

Though the reports talk about stuff burning on the balcony at a higher rate than materials used elsewhere, one must take reality into account.

 

First, something had to START the fire and it was not something easy. After all, how many millions of people have been sailing for years and years. If there was some hotbed of fire activity on balconies, this would should/could have happened many times before.

 

Sobering? Maybe. But still a real long shot in the big picture.

 

What the report has not indicated yet is what CAUSED the fire.

[guernseyguy]

What the report has not indicated yet is what CAUSED the fire.

 

Not yet - thats still under investigation - but the MAIB were sufficiently alarmed by what they found out about the fire risk that they issued this bulletin - Murphys law strikes again!

 

Peter

[mufi]

People do stupid things at times. Suppose someone took all the pillows outside for extra padding on the chairs. Then a dropped cigarette.....

 

The cause is a secondary issue. The concern must be that on a modern ship, built with modern materials which are supposed to be fire resistant, this sort of incident could happen resulting in the death of a passenger.

 

David.