Forensic science is amazing, but considering how hot the fire was judging by press releases and then the boat sank... It’s hard to speculate cause of the fire without knowing how much of the boat remains intact and available to analyze. Specific cause of the fire may remain unk.

the three-level boat burned to the waterline. and then sank. ending upside down in 60' of water.

the crew were the only eyewitness(es) to the cause of the fire. maybe.

as you say, we may never really know what happened out there.

But an NTSB representative is quoted as being "100% confident" that the cause will be determined.

That should resolve all possible doubts....(maybe)

i'm with you there.

in yesterday's news conference i believe someone said that they had statements from the crew. so maybe they already have an idea.

there's that 'maybe' again.

Truly a shocking tragedy. I dived on the boats from Truth Aquatics, but it was 25 years ago. Yes, this was an excellent company ... first-class.

I never remember getting a safety briefing about boat operations. We were always very focused on safety during the diving. Maybe things changed.

I would guess the most probable cause was a fire from batteries being re-charged at night. Many divers have elaborate camera gear. They must re-charge the batteries. This is done in the Galley, the probable source of the fire. Its been going on for years. What went wrong this time? I can only speculate that someone (a diver) sat down some type of flammable liquid beside a battey charger, and the worst of all outcomes happened at 3am.

I cant begin to imagine the terror of the divers awakening to heavy smoke and all exits blocked by the fire.

I am still stunned that these boats (and the crew) did not have better equipment and training for fire fighting. There is no mention of any crew member trying to fight the fire with an extinguisher. The investigators will have to look at this. Once the Galley was ablaze, the divers had no hope.

If any good comes from this, it will be that safety on these dive boats must be dramatically increased ... including a 24-hour deck watch, serious fire training for the crew, and the re-positioning of escape hatches so they open onto the deck at the bow. This should be done for all dive boats in the USA. The deficiencies are widespread.

A real tragedy.

Current speculation about the origin of the fire is centered on battery recharging, especially lithium-ion batteries which were most likely present. Perhaps it would be worthwhile to establish the cause of the fire as clearly as possible before advocating changes in procedures, criticism of the crew's training and actions, etc. None of us were there and we have no idea of the situation with which the crew had to deal.

FWIW, current news articles state that the victims probably died in their sleep, overwhelmed by toxic gases and smoke. The remains of one individual are still missing.

I agree that they died from smoke inhalation. Ventilation below decks was never great. I'm sure they woke up panicked, but smoke inhalation happens very quickly. Any firefighters here? They would have stories.

The point is that the divers would have yelled, screamed for help. They would have pounded their palms on the woodwork. They had very little time to do this, but it would have happened.

Hikermor ... You are quite right ... it's probably not correct for me to rush to judgment. I admit i am biased. Lets wait for the Investigation.

https://enewspaper.latimes.com/desktop/l...0c-236bf740270e

Here is a pretty reasonable article about the changes in requirements that might result from this unfortunate event.. Among other things, better regulation of battery chargers and lithium-ion batteries are likely.

One thing that I think the investigators will want to resolve quickly ... where is the missing body? All the reports I saw said that one diver was unaccounted for. Maybe that body was retrieved from the ocean. It was not present in the wreckage.

A lot of possibilities remain open, until that body is accounted for. And no doubt, friends and family will want to see a resolution.

Hi,
Since I heard of the story
I've been wondering if the boat had fire sprinklers
and if the fire alarms were loud enough (and networked)
and just how many seconds the sleepers had to wake up


I've been swimming and freediving all day, and my hearing was not 100% afterwards

Unless my regular house fire alarm is at arms length,
for me its not loud/annoying enough to wake me up within 10 seconds

I did not recognize a fire alarm going off in adjacent apartment

I've slept through a lot of noise
including one time fire truck and firemen responding to fire in adjacent apartment above mine
and I'm told they evacuated building