GUILTY CA - Boat fire near Santa Cruz Island; 34 missing, Sept 2019 *captain charged*

[PommyMommy]

SEP 4, 2019
33 Bodies Recovered, 1 Still Missing in Boat Fire Off Santa Cruz Island
8 a.m.

Authorities say they have recovered the bodies of 33 people who died in the scuba diving boat fire that happened off the coast of Southern California.

Coast Guard Lt. Zach Farrell said Wednesday that 13 bodies were recovered Tuesday and that one person is still missing.
___

7 a.m.

Authorities say divers were expected at daybreak to resume searching for remains of the victims who died in the scuba diving boat fire off the Southern California coast.

Santa Barbara County Sheriff Cmdr. Kevin Huddle says medical examiners worked overnight from Tuesday into Wednesday to examine remains found so far and identify the victims. Thirty four people are presumed dead following Monday's pre-dawn fire near Santa Cruz island.

[...]

 

[PommyMommy]

SEP 4, 2019
Mill Valley woman among victims of the Santa Cruz Island boat fire

[...]

Lisa Fiedler, 52, of Mill Valley, loved to dive and even thought of herself as “part fish,” her mother Nancy Fiedler told ABC7 News, this news organization’s media partner.

Nancy said her daughter worked as a hairdresser but was also known for her stunning nature photography.

“Everybody loved her. She was a kind, gentle person. She was a naturalist, she loved nature,” Nancy said in a tearful interview with the station.

[...]

“Lisa was an avid diver. She was constantly going all over the world to dive,” Trotter said.

“I would see her around town and say hello; she walked her dog a lot,” he said. “She was always interested in the little art projects I was working on. She was interested in people’s lives in general. She was just a magnificent spirit.”

[...]

 

[crhedBngr]

I can't begin to imagine the pain of the victim's families. May they eventually find consolation and peace in the memories of their loved ones.

 

[PommyMommy]

SEP 4, 2019
How could a fire incinerate a 75-foot dive boat so fast? – Santa Cruz Sentinel
As investigators probe Monday’s deadly dive boat fire near Santa Barbara, a key unanswered question was how flames could so quickly consume the 75-foot vessel.

But two things could have turned the ship into a raging inferno — whether added oxygen was being used for the divers’ air tanks, and the boat’s wooden hull construction, according to a marine forensic consulting expert.

“If there was a leak in the oxygen, it would act like a blast furnace,” said Gregory T. Davis, principal consultant with Davis Marine Consulting Associates in Tesuque, New Mexico, who is not part of the investigation but is often an expert witness with 44 years of experience in the field.

“Wood is combustible, so it’s going to contribute to the fire,” Davis added. “The whole boat is combustible. It’s got plenty of fuel. Add oxygen and now it’s going to burn really good.”

[...]

 

[SoCalDavidS]

There was obviously an accelerant that contributed to it raging out of control. The firefighters on scene kept saying that there were ongoing explosions, and that they essentially had to let it burn since there was no way to fight it or decrease the flames through their efforts.

 

[PommyMommy]

Steve Kuzj on Twitter (Video)
As families and friends of the 34 victims who died on a diving boat fire near Santa Cruz Island come to mourn, 12-year-old CJ Andelman fills the air with the soothing music of her harp.
11:04 AM - 4 Sep 2019 from Santa Barbara, CA

John Palminteri on Twitter
FBI and NTSB OFFICIALS have set up a special secure area in the Santa Barbara Harbor for any evidence or boat parts that come in from the CONCEPTION FIRE scene off of Santa Cruz Island. An extensive investigation will take place to determine the fire's cause.

11:34 AM - 4 Sep 2019

 

[Cryptic]

My very general understanding of scuba diving is that it can be divided into three categories:

1. General recreational
2. deeper and longer technical diving as a hobby
3. professional technical diving (salvage, repair, recovery etc).

And now some questions for any informed member:

I know that people doing technical diving often use a mix of carefully selected gasses due to depth, decompression tables etc. . Would general recreational diving involve specialized gasses like oxygen and other mixes? Or do such divers simply use "air"?

Did the chartering dive companies do technical diving trips? Or, were the victims doing recreational diving? Is it possible that some divers would have been doing recreational diving and other divers doing technical dives- or is it either "all of one and none of the other" to prevent mix ups etc?

 

[BayouBelle_LA]

My very general understanding of scuba diving is that it can be divided into three categories:

1. General recreational
2. deeper and longer technical diving as a hobby
3. professional technical diving (salvage, repair, recovery etc).

And now some questions for any informed member:

I know that people doing technical diving often use a mix of carefully selected gasses due to depth, decompression tables etc. . Would general recreational diving involve specialized gasses like oxygen and other mixes? Or do such divers simply use "air"?

Did the chartering dive companies do technical diving trips? Or, were the victims doing recreational diving? Is it possible that some divers would have been doing recreational diving and other divers doing technical dives- or is it either "all of one and none of the other" to prevent mix ups etc?

In the air we breathe there’s approximately 21% oxygen, 78% nitrogen. In a standard compressed air tank that a diver typically uses the percentages are approximately the same. In Nitrox, there’s less nitrogen and more oxygen. You need extra training to use Nitrox. The tanks would be clearly marked so there’s no confusion of the mixture.

I know a lot of recreational divers that use Nitrox, including my hubby. He also spear fishes while diving. The way I understand it helps with less decompression but I’m not sure you can dive as deep.

I don’t know for sure but it’s more likely they were diving recreationally. Divers would be admiring sea life, I would think some would be using go-pros or other cameras to record. Some may have been spear fishing because I saw on the website you can take game with the proper licensing. There may have been beginner divers getting their certifications. I would imagine there could have been some non-divers just out with friends or family members.

IMO

 

[PommyMommy]

ABC7 Eyewitness News on Twitter
WATCH #LIVE: @NTSB officials provide updates on deadly fire on scuba diving boat near Santa Cruz Island. Latest: https://abc7.la/2NVtfot
3:20 PM - 4 Sep 2019

John Palminteri on Twitter
Los Angeles Port Police added to the fleet of vessels assisting Santa Barbara County with security and dive operations at the fatal Conception dive boat fire off Santa Cruz Island.

3:15 PM - 4 Sep 2019

Santa Barbara County on Twitter
Divers and support crews from many agencies continue work at the #Conception dive boat incident off Santa Cruz Island. The vessel caught fire and sank on Monday, Sept. 2, 2019. Photos by @sbsheriff and @CHISNPS.

3:24 PM - 4 Sep 2019

 

[SoCalDavidS]

Another sad story I heard on the radio. A husband & wife were avid scuba divers, and went on these types of trips regularly. They live in Santa Monica. But the wife was out of state in FL for work, so the husband went with a neighbor from the apartment building who they were friends with.

 

[PommyMommy]

Another sad story I heard on the radio. A husband & wife were avid scuba divers, and went on these types of trips regularly. They live in Santa Monica. But the wife was out of state in FL for work, so the husband went with a neighbor from the apartment building who they were friends with.

 

[PommyMommy]

SEP 4, 2019
NTSB shares details of investigation into Southern California boat fire
The National Transportation Safety Board held a press conference on Wednesday to issue an update on the investigation into Monday's deadly boat fire near Santa Cruz Island.

• The crew and others they have interviewed have been cooperative, but details of the interviews will not be released.
• All but one surviving crew member were drug and alcohol tested, and all tests were negative.
• The crew member who was not tested was being transported to the hospital at the time.
• Investigators went to see another boat owned by the same company called Vision. They said it is not an identical vessel, but it is similar.
• They are mapping submerged wreckage before it is moved.
• The Conception was not required to have sprinklers, and investigators are working to confirm when it was last inspected.
• Truth Aquatics, the owner of Conception and Vision, is halting operations.
• The NTSB expects to issue a preliminary report in 10 days. That will not contain findings. A final report that includes probable cause will not be released for 12 to 18 months.
• Investigators ask that witnesses contact the agency at witness@ntsb.gov.

 

[SoCalDavidS]

Though not required, would sprinklers have helped at all? It seemed like a raging fire, but might they have made a difference?

 

[BeachSky]

A person on the dive messageboard suggested a small battery operated chainsaw mounted on the wall down in the bunk room. Much faster than taking an axe to the hull.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Whether their escape from the Conception before dawn Monday was the only viable option, an act of cowardice or even a crime has yet to be determined. While the old saw about the captain going down with his ship is more an antiquated notion, there are laws to punish a ship’s master who shirks his duty to safely evacuate passengers.

The responsibilities of captain and crew are broadly defined, said professor Martin J. Davies, who is the maritime law director at Tulane University. With passengers, their duty is take reasonable care in all the circumstances, which is dependent on those circumstances.

If that captain made no attempt to save passengers trapped in a burning boat that would be a violation of his duty. But it wouldn’t necessarily be wrong if the crew decided there was nothing they could do to help the passengers in the berth and abandoned ship to seek help from a boat nearby.

“The notion of the captain always goes down with the ship is consistent with that only because the captain is expected to stay there and do something if that’s going to help,” Davies said. “The idea that the captain is actually supposed to die along with everyone else is not any kind of a legal requirement.”

While authorities have said they view the disaster as an accident, prosecutors from the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles and the Santa Barbara County district attorney’s office are taking part in the investigation.

Whether anyone is criminally charged will depend on the conclusions of a multi-agency investigation on land and sea into the cause of the fire. Investigators interviewed the captain and crew members Wednesday, but wouldn’t reveal any of what they learned.
Probe into boat fire could lead to criminal case

 

[Cryptic]

In the air we breathe there’s approximately 21% oxygen, 78% nitrogen. In a standard compressed air tank that a diver typically uses the percentages are approximately the same. In Nitrox, there’s less nitrogen and more oxygen. You need extra training to use Nitrox. The tanks would be clearly marked so there’s no confusion of the mixture.

I know a lot of recreational divers that use Nitrox, including my hubby. I don’t know for sure but it’s more likely they were diving recreationally.

Thanks for the good information.

It does not seem that the air tanks of the divers would have been flammable or particularly explosive. Maybe there is another cause for the super rapid spread of the fire?

 

[imstilla.grandma]

The video, taken by helicopter crews from Santa Barbara and Los Angeles County Sheriff's teams, shows boats in the water at the recovery site and how close the wreckage is to Santa Cruz Island. This is one of the first times the public has been able to see what crews are dealing with since the Conception caught fire and sank.
New aerials show Conception's ocean recovery site

 

[mrstfs]

From the LA Times: “Surviving crew member thought phone charging station might have sparked boat fire”

Surviving crew member thought phone charging station might have sparked boat fire

 

[imstilla.grandma]

“There's any number of things that could go wrong with them on a boat,” Morris said. “And the best course of action, of course, is prevention.”

To sign up for a safety course or have your boat inspected for free, go to Power Squadron’s website, www.tampaps.org.

Coast Guard Report: Florida Leads Nation Again In Boating Accidents, Fatalities

 

[happyday]

• All but one surviving crew member were drug and alcohol tested, and all tests were negative.

• The crew member who was not tested was being transported to the hospital at the time.

From the NTSB article PommyMommy posted.

Just wanted to bring this forward. I am so worried about the surviving crew members. I fear they will have terrible ptsd and I can’t imagine the guilt they probably feel. It really seems like they tried their best but there was just nothing they could do.