A hearth erupted on the balcony of a visitor cabin on the Pacific Journey 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 company and a crew of over 1,000.
Newspapers reported that many company have 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 company have been displaced.
As standard, a cruise line spokesperson claimed that the hearth was “small” and “shortly extinguished.” Quite a few newspaper repeated the “small and shortly extinguished” fireplace mantra. There have been no reviews of damage to the company or crew members. P&O didn’t disclose the reason for the hearth.
There are conflicting reviews concerning the extent of the hearth. Some newspapers report that the hearth broken just one cabin whereas different sources declare that quite a few cabins have been broken.
Historical past Repeats Itself?
Primarily based on feedback by an nameless visitor, Cruise Mapper reviews that the “fireplace broke out on a cabin balcony reportedly, attributable to a lit cigarette . . . ” If that’s the case, this was additionally essentially the most possible reason behind the origin of lethal fireplace on the Star Princess cruise ship in 2006. That individual fireplace started on a balcony and unfold into the adjoining cabin after which continued to burn all through the ship. Learn: Cigarette Eyed As Cause of Cruise Blaze by NBC Information.
There’s No “Small Hearth” at Sea
Many individuals have steered that the hearth on the Pacific Journey wasn’t severe as a result of it was characterised as “small” and “shortly extinguished.” That is what the cruise line and its commerce group need you to consider. In fact, each fireplace on the excessive seas begins out small and is doubtlessly very severe.
Does the Pacific Journey Have Hearth Detection and Suppression Techniques in its Balconies?
The essential difficulty is whether or not the balcony in query was outfitted with a “mounted stress water-spraying and glued fireplace detection and fireplace alarm techniques,” as required by amendments to the SOLAS laws.
These amendments to SOLAS took place after the hearth 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 Department (MAIB) was essential of the truth that the balcony chairs and balcony partitions have been extremely flamable and brought on heavy, poisonous smoke. Not one 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 Trade Discovered Something?
Mr. Liffridge’s daughter later went aboard the Star Princess and inspected the balcony and fireplace detection techniques. You may 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.
Nonetheless, when the Worldwide Maritime Group (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 have been of “restricted fireplace threat.”
Apart from Princess, few cruise traces 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 the entire 95 or so cruise ships owned by Carnival Company, 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 traces? Have some cruise traces 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 Journey have fireplace detection and suppression techniques for its balconies? P&O representatives haven’t talked about this difficulty and the media, sadly, is simply parroting the deceptive “small and shortly extinguished” fireplace narrative.
Carry out Your Personal 30-Second Investigation of Your Cruise Balcony
If you’re crusing on the Pacific Journey 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’re simple to identify if they’ve been put in.
Within the {photograph} beneath, you may see our shopper mentioning the sprinkler valve (together with her proper hand) and the smoke/warmth detector (together with her left hand). Does your cabin’s balcony have this primary gear put in?
Please ship me an electronic mail, or depart a touch upon our Fb web page, letting me know the outcomes of your thirty-second investigation. We additionally recommend taking a photograph of the balcony overhead house. You also needs to ask the cruise line for a solution to the straightforward sure or no questions: (1) does the balcony have a sprinkler valve, and (2) does the balcony have a smoke/warmth alarm? (I might not maintain my breath ready for a solution). Thanks!
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In Memory of Richard Liffridge, March 11, 1934 – March 23, 2006
Picture credit score: Pacific Journey – 9 News; Star Princess – NBC News; Pacific Journey– 9 News Queensland.
