There are some superb pictures in this pdf file of the fire damage, check out pages 18-23 of the document:

Fire Report and Pictures

From Wikipedia:

On 23 March 2006, at about 3 am, a fire broke out in the passenger compartments, amidships, on the port side of the ship. Shortly after, the captain sounded the General Emergency Signal—seven short blasts followed by one long blast on the ship's whistle, which woke passengers up all over the ship. Passengers went to muster stations and evacuees were combined into groups, then stationed in cramped rooms for about seven hours. Some passengers who needed regular medication required crew members to go into their suites and retrieve their medication.

Passengers evacuated their cabins into public areas through smoky hallways, grabbing their life jackets on the way. The evacuation was reportedly orderly, in contrast to deadlier fires such as those on the Morro Castle and Yarmouth Castle. Lifeboats were lowered, but proved to be unnecessary, as the fire was contained and doused, and the ship headed into Montego Bay under her own power.

The fire was probably caused by a cigarette left burning on a balcony, which had become hot enough to melt the balcony divides made from plastic polycarbonate, a material that had been approved by international cruise line safety rules. The fire caused scorching damage in up to 150 cabins, and smoke damage in at least 100 more on passenger decks 9 to 12 (Dolphin, Caribe, Baja and Aloha decks). A passenger, Richard Liffidge, 72, of Georgia, died from "asphyxia secondary to inhalation of smoke and irrespirable gases" and eleven other passengers suffered significant smoke inhalation.

While a smouldering discarded cigarette probably did cause the flames, the following items were also at fault for allowing the fire to spread as quickly as it did:

The balconies’ polycarbonate partitions, polyurethane deck tiles, and the plastic furniture were highly combustible and produced large quantities of very thick black smoke when burned.

The glass in the doors between the staterooms and balconies was neither fire retardant, to meet with the requirements of an ‘A’ class division, nor self-closing.

The balconies crossed main zone fire boundaries, both horizontally and vertically, and were without structural or thermal barriers at the zone or deck boundaries.

No fire detection or fire suppression systems were fitted on the balconies.

Passengers were evacuated to hotels in Jamaica and subsequently were flown home. The ship was en route from Grand Cayman to Montego Bay, Jamaica, after departing Fort Lauderdale, Florida on 19 March 2006. With 79 cabins destroyed and a further 204 damaged, the ship was moved to the Bahamas where she was prepared for a transatlantic crossing to Bremerhaven, Germany for repairs. Her remaining Caribbean cruises and a transatlantic cruise were cancelled, with the anticipation that she would begin her summer season in the Baltic mid-May.

The ship was repaired at the Lloyd Werft in Bremerhaven, set sail again on the 13 May 2006 and resumed its regular service on the 15 May from Copenhagen. Passengers reported that the only noticeable differences were a strong smell of new carpeting, the addition of sprinklers to all balconies and the replacement of plastic furniture with non-combustible alternatives

[ 03-23-2010: Message edited by: dmwnc1 ]

The problem could still happen today and no amount of modifications can change that.

The balcony cabins on the Grand class are designed in such a way that they are open to the elements and wind. As oxygen is a strong fuel for fire all you need is the right breeze passing all these open balconies to ignite the flames and spread the fire. As the Grand class has more open and exposed balcony cabins it is very easy for fire to spread if the wind is right. Just about every balcony on that ship is a wind tunnel that can fuel a fire.

As for enclosed balcony cabins - they are isolated and more sheltered meaning that a smoke detector will pick up smoke quicker and sprinklers able to put out a single fire before it spreads to other balconies.

The official (and expert) report clearly stated that it was "probably" started by a cigarette - you are obviously better qualified than the experts who actually did the investigation and actually saw the evidence first hand etc - none of which you did.

Of course the only sure fire way of stopping any recurrance (using your logic) is to ban passengers from using cruise ships all together !

quote:

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Originally posted by mike sa:
Sutho

The official (and expert) report clearly stated that it was "probably" started by a cigarette - you are obviously better qualified than the experts who actually did the investigation and actually saw the evidence first hand etc - none of which you did.

Of course the only sure fire way of stopping any recurrance (using your logic) is to ban passengers from using cruise ships all together ! -

(This is a foolish and provocative thing to say and only starts arguements. I would suggest sticking to the subject and not inferring I have stated things I have not!)

Smoking is only one source of heat, I don't believe there is absolute evidence that a cigarette has ever caused a ship to sink etc. - the addition of sprinklers, combined with infraread heat detecting cameras scanning the area is in the EXPERTS opinion more than adequate.

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Given that I have been fully trained in Naval fire fighting and Nuclear Biological and Chemical Defence (NBCD), gives me the knowledge of the subject and the authority to know how a fire may spread and what the dangers are.

Interestingly enough if we can find the original thread four years ago about the Star Princess fire you will find my comments there about its nature and the way it spread and how it stopped was very similar to the official findings after the investigation was complete.

[ 03-24-2010: Message edited by: Sutho ]

quote:

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Originally posted by mike sa:
Sutho

Of course the only sure fire way of stopping any recurrance (using your logic) is to ban passengers from using cruise ships all together !
.

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Here is a perfect example of this member "creating" statements that were NEVER made by other members. It is a further example of the low levels this member will go to in order to stir up trouble, disrupt topics and generate arguments and then back up.

quote:

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Originally posted by mike sa:
Blah, blah, blurrrrrrrrrrrr................

I assume you will be applying for Micky Arison's job in short order. Or is World President more in line with your expertise.

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I have a new method of dealing with your childish and subtle ways of attempting to start an argument and that is publishing your insults.

I will make a deal with you. If you can find in this thread where I stated that having no passengers is the best way to prevent fires then I will leave this forum for good.

If not concede that you were trying to stir up trouble or leave.

For too long I have fallen into your trap when you misrepresent a quote, invent quotes people have said or stor up trouble and the threads ended up in mass arguments and topics locked. Well I am not falling into your trap anymore.

-Angelia Lauro while dock in St. Thomas (March 30, 1979
-Prinsendam in the Gulf of Alaska (Oct. 4, 1980)
-Achille Lauro off of Somolia (Nov. 30, 1994)

All three were total losses and sunk at sea

Others:
-(Diamond) turned Sapphire Princess while under construction at the shipyard in Japan (Oct. 1, 2002)
-Westerdam while under construction in Italy (Oct. 17, 2003)

Angelina Lauro

Prinsendam

Achille Lauro

Diamond/Sapphire Princess

Westerdam

[ 03-26-2010: Message edited by: dmwnc1 ]

2 I can think of from last year are Costa Romantica & Royal Princess. These of course were contained fairly quickly. One can only guess as to what the consequences could have been if all the new rules and regulations we all moan about had not been in place.

Small fires happen a lot more often than we hear about, even on QM2 we had one, and on Norwegian Dream [both electrical]. Quickly dealt with; end of story, except for the smell in the latter case. Things could have been so different 30 years ago.

quote:

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Originally posted by PamM:
Illiria, Sun Vista - both TCLs in 1999. Carnival Ectascy, The Calypso.. many more Pam

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That is also the way I had heard it, that after her tow thru the Panama Canal she sank in the Pacific.

quote:

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Originally posted by JohnHJ:
If memory serves correctly, the Angelina Lauro did not sink immediately after her fire in March of 79'. She sat in St. Thomas for several months before she was sold for scrap. In the summer of 79' she had been towed from St. Thomas and had successfully cleared the Panama Canal when some of her warped plates from the fire finally buckled and she started to take on water slowly. I believe she finally sank after foundering for a few days in September of 1979. I had the privilege of spending an afternoon on her in Port Everglades around 76' or so prior to her sale to Costa. She was a lovely ship with beautiful lines.

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Great to see you have posted my picture of the Angelina Lauro on fire at St Thomas and also my one of her resting on the harbour bottom a week later with Pacific Princess entering the harbour behind her !

She did sink when under tow having been raised off the harbour floor at St Thomas.

My complete set of photos of Angelina Lauro on fire at St Thomas, including those posted in this section, is posted on the ss Maritime website in the ms Oranje section and were taken between when the fire started about 16.00 hrs and when we sailed at Midnight.

I was doing a relief trip on Sun Princess at the time of the fire and we took about 400 of her passengers back to San Juan, rather than leave them stranded in St Thomas.