Cigarette "probable cause" Star Princess Fire

[negc]

Obviously someone ignored those safety warnings not to throw the butts over the side because they can blow back onto the ship.

 

Sadly some people have no respect. It's not like there aren't plenty of ash trays all over the place.

 

Part of the problem is the fact that anything dropped off the upper balconies, even if there is no wind blowing it back towards the ship, will fall directly onto the uncovered balconies on the lower decks which jut out from the ship. However, of more concern should be the fact that the materials used on the balconies was not fire-retardant, or sufficiently so, to prevent the blaze from spreading and the glass was not fire-rated to keep it from shattering and allowing fire to reach some of the staterooms, where thankfully the sprinkler systems did their job. I believe that Princess has taken the appropriate steps to correct their mistakes but I still would not be thrilled if something accidentally fell from an upper balcony and landed on my balcony, or worse, my head.

Not much can be done about personal stupidity, but something can be done about making sure that materials used on the balconies and elsewhere on the ship meet reasonable safety standards.

[cusyl]

Now as "Larry the Cable Guy" would say...

"I don't care where you're from...that's funny."

I loved this post...LOL:D

:eek: :D :D :eek: Obviously a he's a smoker

[CRUZD]

I haven't read the entire report but did one post say that smoke was smelled nearly 15 minutes before the actual flames were noticed? By who? and was it reported? Also the report also mentioned something about telephone calls to the Purser's Desk that were not answered? These are two issues that I can't seem to find anymore info on. I understand that a fire can start but did passengers attempt to report it sooner? Could there have been a quicker response? Were the passengers at the muster stations given accurate information? These are answers I'd feel safe knowing more about for future cruising. Thanks if anyone has read that far into the report. I'm not sure if I should put this here or the other post that has begun but I'd really be interested if anyone knows the answer before I book my cruise. Thanks.

[MauiLvrs]

There is no other probably answer/option after the analysis is complete. IF your going to throw you cig over the side, at least be nice enough to go with it.

 

They found no indication of candles, they looked.

And BTW they did find undeniable proof that there was burn damage on other balconies. Fortunately there were no towels or clothing also.

 

"They" happen to be:

The UK Department for Transport Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB)

 

The Department of Maritime Administration, Bermuda Government

 

The United States Coast Guard

 

The National Transportation Safety Board

 

The FBI

 

And the fire testing was conducted by The Building Research Establishment.

 

Princess of Carnival were not authors of the report and did not conduct the analysis.

 

It's all in here, all 62 pages of it: http://www.maib.gov.uk/cms_resources/Star%20Princess.pdf

 

plus the Annexes are here, all 52 pages of them:

http://www.maib.gov.uk/cms_resources/Star%20Princess%5FAnnexes%2Epdf

 

Don't read the 1-1/4 page synopsis and think that you read the report.

 

After you read the entire report it is clear that some IDIOT tossed their smoke over the side and burned up the ship.

[MauiLvrs]

I haven't read the entire report .... Thanks.

It's all in the report.....

Yes

Security

Yes

Yes

No

A little

and Yes.

 

The crew did an amazing job of fighting a fire they didn't expect and were not trained for. Yes there were some things that could have been improved and there were recomendation to do so and they have been implemented.

 

The ship was in contact with the VP and the command center 13 minutes after the first alarm. The crew alert went out in about 3 minutes from the time the Captain arrived on the bridge and the general stations alarm went out in about 10.

 

It's all in the report in detail.

[CRUZD]

In reading the report and the other post about the fire I still don't understand it fully. Was the smoke smelled 15 minutes before the fire was reported...and if it was, does anyone know why? I don't understand why passenger calls to the Purser's office weren't answered, doesn't Princess have a 24/7 Purser's desk? Also, most Muster stations are headed by experienced personnel that take attendance, doesn't Princess have an accounting of people who arrive there safely in order to give accurate information as to the whereabouts of their passengers? Did they really have someone new at one/some of the muster stations. I've been on ships that have taken very accurate, serious head counts and can't tell if this is something that Princess may need to address for future training. I'm happy that they are taking measures to correct fire safety issues but does anyone know how they are addressing onboard training that may needed?

[Upandadam]

It strikes me that if in fact a carelessly tossed cigarette was the cause, then it's the person who tossed it that caused the fire, not the cigarette. Just as Kane killed Able. It wasn't the clubs fault, or the fault of other's who may own or use a club. I just wonder if the person who tossed it realizes what they've done. That is, assuming the probably cause was in fact the actual cause. Only they and their conscience know.

[Host CJSKIDS]

In reading the report and the other post about the fire I still don't understand it fully. Was the smoke smelled 15 minutes before the fire was reported...and if it was, does anyone know why? I don't understand why passenger calls to the Purser's office weren't answered, doesn't Princess have a 24/7 Purser's desk? Also, most Muster stations are headed by experienced personnel that take attendance, doesn't Princess have an accounting of people who arrive there safely in order to give accurate information as to the whereabouts of their passengers? Did they really have someone new at one/some of the muster stations. I've been on ships that have taken very accurate, serious head counts and can't tell if this is something that Princess may need to address for future training. I'm happy that they are taking measures to correct fire safety issues but does anyone know how they are addressing onboard training that may needed?

 

Yes, someone smelled smoke at 2:50. We woke up at 3 am and the balcony was clearly on fire a cabin or two over. It was difficult to see as we were so close, but large chunks of fire were hitting our balcony and landing on the furniture. Our balcony was ablaze prior to the general alarm sounding. Prior to us leaving the sliding door shattered though luckily stayed in one piece.

 

Princess has a 24/7 purser's desk, but one big mistake was when the crew alarm was sounded prior to the general alarm, the crew went into action and this included those at the purser's desk leaving their post.

 

Muster stations are headed by experienced personal, however, no one there had experience in anything close to this. We had very young girl heading up muster station C and she had a hard time. It was after 3 am, people were not thinking as straight as they do in a muster drill.

It's really easy to take an accurate count in a drill, it's another thing when it's 3 am, you are in the middle of an emergency, people are scared, half asleep and not fully paying attention, and not everyone could get to their muster station. In the perfect scenerio you would get to your muster station, but if you can't getting to the nearest one is where you need to go.

 

Anymore you need to know, there are plenty of threads on here that were written around the time of the fire and shortly afterwards. You can research it on line as it was on the news and in the papers. You will be able to find many answers to your questions.

 

 

As far as the person who threw the cigarette knowing what they did, anyone that threw a cigarette over the port side from 2:30 am on could be responsible and unless they were completely drunk (and there were some who were in our muster station) then they have to know that they potetially did this. How they can look themselves in the mirror after this I don't quite understand as many went through hell and someone lost their life. The cigarette could have been thrown from any deck, by anyone on the ship and been carried onto the balcony it hit. I hope that all who were smoking and tossed their butt rather than putting it out safely is living with more nightmares than the rest of us. Because of an competely careless act, people's lives were put in jeopardy and it's something that could have been avoided.