More about fires associated with highly flammable materials.
This is about a cruise ship fire in 2006 that changed how cruise ship balconies are built, across the industry, and why smoking on balconies is strictly prohibited. The cause of this fire was never specifically traced, but the accepted explanation is that a passenger on a balcony higher than Deck 10 flicked a still burning cigarette off their balcony in windy conditions and it landed on a balcony on Deck 10 below, which had some flammable material like towels, or a book on it. The winds were brisk that night and it presumes the cigarette smoldered for a bit whipped by wind, and when the flames erupted, it was enough to set the plastic side panels, decking, balcony floor and chairs all on fire. It was fortunately noticed about 3 am when someone saw an orange glow on their balcony and pulled a Fire Alarm.
The external surface of the vessel in this area showed extensive damage to multiple balconies. However, the worst experience for the adjacent passengers was the very toxic smoke that barreled into the hallways on the upper floors, despite the Captain slowing down the ship and turning off the ventilation system to stop wind flow.
One person died in this fire, from complications of smoke inhalation. No person reported burns and the fire was extinguished within an hour by the well-organized crew.
A total of 297 cabins were damaged: heat damage to the ship side, melted balcony structures, glass balcony doors that shattered in the heat, and dense smoke damage in the affected cabins and hallways.
After this, the cruise line removed ALL flammable materials from their balcony designs, and installed sprinklers on the balconies. Almost every other cruise line followed suit because of what they all learned about this accident.
The point is that burning items can enflame flammable items and if they are largely plastic, can cause extremely damaging heat and smoke, just like we saw at Le Constellation.
In March of 2006, the Star Princess was sailing just off the coast of Jamaica. She had 3813 people on board in total and as far as everybody was concerned, this was a totally normal cruise. What Caused The 2006 Fire on The Star Princess? The Marine Accident Investigation Branch concluded that...
emmacruises.com
