Early warning smoke detection has been around for over 50 years. It is required everywhere you sleep and is required and enforced in all residential and commercial structures by the appropriate responsible agencies. So where can you put 34 people to sleep in a wooden / fiberglass structure with limited egress? …in a Coast Guard compliant Subchapter T Boat.
Smoke alarms were only required in the sleeping area and not required in the area where the fire started. The guests used expensive cameras, diving lights, underwater scooters, etc. The Conception had sophisticated radar, sonar, chart plotters, satellite TV, etc. …but not smoke alarms. The Conception was a “compliant fire trap”. The Coast Guard should embrace mainstream fire protection practices …and the upcoming NTSB report will once again say so.
Early warning smoke detection has been around for over 50 years. It is required everywhere you sleep and is required and enforced in all residential and commercial structures by the appropriate responsible agencies. So where can you put 34 people to sleep in a wooden / fiberglass structure with limited egress? …in a Coast Guard compliant Subchapter T Boat.
Smoke alarms were only required in the sleeping area and not required in the area where the fire started. The guests used expensive cameras, diving lights, underwater scooters, etc. The Conception had sophisticated radar, sonar, chart plotters, satellite TV, etc. …but not smoke alarms. The Conception was a “compliant fire trap”. The Coast Guard should embrace mainstream fire protection practices …and the upcoming NTSB report will once again say so.
John McDevitt
NFPA 302 Watercraft – Chair
Licensed USCG Master (1993)
Accredited Marine Surveyor (SAMS)