Deadly Fire Investigation
Statistics gathered by insurers and industry watchdogs show that about 55% of shipboard fires in smaller vessels are related to electrical systems….
“People have rechargeable everything these days,” said veteran diver Ben Wolfe, a retired Los Angeles County Fire Department captain who dived off the Conception two weeks before its fiery demise. “I had a battery like a TV camera battery that powered my underwater scooter plugged in each night.”
As a general rule, aside from a random smoking related fire, the most logical places for a catastrophic boat fire to begin are the engine room and the galley (which was evidently in the path of egress in this case.)
All of a boat's electrical circuits are protected by circuit breakers. But, those circuit breakers don’t offer any protection from faulty plug-in devices overheating.
There is a lot of concern, and speculation, regarding the cause of this fire, but the lack of a proper fire watch no-doubt led to the number of casualties.
Sad.
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