Tragic boat fire in California

[Vash01]

I have not seen a thread about this but this has been all over the news. A dive boat with 39 on board caught fire in the middle of the night. Five crewmen who were on the top deck survived. No one else was able to escape as they were on the lower level. Several are still unaccounted for. This is an unspeakable tragedy because this group was celebrating three birthdays on labor day weekend. They were supposed to be back in Santa Barbara at 5 pm on Sunday, but they perished Saturday night/early morning. I can't even imagine the horror of this.

"You can only imagine the horror": Couple who rescued California boat fire survivors speaks out

"It's just one of those things you can't unsee"

www.cbsnews.com

May they all RIP. My deepest condolences to their families.

 

[Cachoo]

There were apparently two fire fighting systems on the boat and a long cabin with exits at each end yet both entrances were already blocked by flames and smoke. What the hell happened?

 

[Vash01]

There were apparently two fire fighting systems on the boat and a long cabin with exits at each end yet both entrances were already blocked by flames and smoke. What the hell happened?

NTSB is going to investigate.

 

[Japanfan]

Tragic. One of the dead is a 17-year old girl. I presume she's dead, as SFAIK he body as not been found yet.

 

[missing]

A family of five is believed to have died, a father, stepmother and three children.

Bodies will be identified through DNA.

There's something so easy to identify with in this tragedy. I know people who would love to take a three day vacation like that. It's far too easy to imagine the people and their panic when the ship caught fire.

 

[Winnipeg]

I can't imagine the intensity this fire must of had given the types of flammables on board. What a tragedy. The fire would have spread so fast too............terrifying.

 

[Vash01]

This is really close to home. Today I picked up our local newspaper (Ahwatukee Foothills News) and saw this story on the front page. Ahwatukee is a part of the Phoenix metro area and I live in it.

The story said that an Ahwatukee couple was feared among the dive boat victims. Neal Baltz And his girl friend Patricia Beitzinger who were avid scuba divers, were confirmed by the coast guard as passengers on the dive boat Conception but their names are not on the list of confirmed dead. I know they are still doing the DNA testing for identification.

Their friend and neighbor said that he left several phone messages for them since Monday evening but there was no response. The friend is going to pick up their dog from the kennel.

The couple had gone scuba diving in Indonesia when the earthquake struck there but they survived it.

I did not know them but it feels like they were my neighbors since they lived in the same part if this metro area.

ETA - I just checked the Facebook page for Neal Baltz. It confirmed that Neal and Patricia perished in the fire. His father said they died doing what they loved.
Many of their friends have posted about their tragic deaths. They were both believed to be in their 40’s.

May they both RIP. My condolences to their family and friends.

I posted a message of condolences on the page of one of their friends. She is grieving and she has posted a picture of the unlucky couple.

 

[crzesk8dad]

This is really close to home. Today I picked up our local newspaper (Ahwatukee Foothills News) and saw this story on the front page. Ahwatukee is a part of the Phoenix metro area and I live in it.

The story said that an Ahwatukee couple was feared among the dive boat victims. Neal Baltz And his girl friend Patricia Beitzinger who were avid scuba divers, were confirmed by the coast guard as passengers on the dive boat Conception but their names are not on the list of confirmed dead. I know they are still doing the DNA testing for identification.

Their friend and neighbor said that he left several phone messages for them since Monday evening but there was no response. The friend is going to pick up their dog from the kennel.

The couple had gone scuba diving in Indonesia when the earthquake struck there but they survived it.

I did not know them but it feels like they were my neighbors since they lived in the same part if this metro area.

ETA - I just checked the Facebook page for Neal Baltz. It confirmed that Neal and Patricia perished in the fire. His father said they died doing what they loved.
Many of their friends have posted about their tragic deaths. They were both believed to be in their 40’s.

May they both RIP. My condolences to their family and friends.

I posted a message of condolences on the page of one of their friends. She is grieving and she has posted a picture of the unlucky couple.

From the LA Times:

California boat fire victims: United by a love for ocean, taken in tragedy. These are their stories

The passengers of the Conception dive boat ended their second day in the waters off the California coast with a nighttime swim, exploring a lush, watery world populated with coral and kelp forests.

www.latimes.com

Cause of California boat fire could take up to two years to determine, officials say

Officials have recovered the bodies of 33 people who died in a massive fire aboard the Conception. One person remains missing.

www.latimes.com

 

[Peaches LaTour]

I lived in Ventura for 20 years & took excursions out to the Islands at least twice yearly to whale watch or hike on the island.

Between the Islands & the mainland are several large oil rigs and between the rigs and the Islands is a major shipping lane for cargo ships headed to & from the Orient.

I loved going out to sea in the area where this tragedy occurred. It is breathtaking out there but even though you are roughly only about 22 miles out to sea at the islands, you feel like you are much farther out. It isn't uncommon for private boats to anchor off this area over night as these people did.

I cannot imagine how completely disorienting it must have been for the survivors when they were suddenly faced with dealing with this fire especially in the middle of the night.

Another scary consideration in that area is the fact that Great Whites are there. Personally I always limited what swimming I did off the island to "close to shore". There were three fatal attacks (one a diver) during the time frame I lived there.

Two good friends of mine were lost at sea while fishing off the island. Their small boat was found floating, capsized, just below the surface. They believe a rogue wave suddenly capsized them.

They are not sure they will be able to raise the boat. I remember there was a very large salvaging company in Oxnard but don't know who will make that attempt.

Hopefully they will be able to retrieve all of the victims.

 

[Vash01]

I lived in Ventura for 20 years & took excursions out to the Islands at least twice yearly to whale watch or hike on the island.

Between the Islands & the mainland are several large oil rigs and between the rigs and the Islands is a major shipping lane for cargo ships headed to & from the Orient.

I loved going out to sea in the area where this tragedy occurred. It is breathtaking out there but even though you are roughly only about 22 miles out to sea at the islands, you feel like you are much farther out. It isn't uncommon for private boats to anchor off this area over night as these people did.

I cannot imagine how completely disorienting it must have been for the survivors when they were suddenly faced with dealing with this fire especially in the middle of the night.

Another scary consideration in that area is the fact that Great Whites are there. Personally I always limited what swimming I did off the island to "close to shore". There were three fatal attacks (one a diver) during the time frame I lived there.

Two good friends of mine were lost at sea while fishing off the island. Their small boat was found floating, capsized, just below the surface. They believe a rogue wave suddenly capsized them.

They are not sure they will be able to raise the boat. I remember there was a very large salvaging company in Oxnard but don't know who will make that attempt.

Hopefully they will be able to retrieve all of the victims.

As of now, they have retrieved all but one body, but identification may take time. The man from Ahwatukee has been listed as ‘confirmed dead’.

It is always sad to hear of accidents and loss of life. Hopefully this will result in better safety requirements on similar boats.

I can’t imagine what the families must be going through.

 

[missing]

Dive boat owners seek to fend off lawsuits.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The owners of the dive boat where 34 people perished in a fire off Southern California filed a lawsuit Thursday to head off potentially costly litigation, a move condemned by some observers as disrespectful to the families of the dead.

Truth Aquatics Inc., which owned the Conception, filed the action in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles under a pre-Civil War provision of maritime law that allows it to limit its liability.

 

[AxelAnnie]

Dive boat owners seek to fend off lawsuits.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The owners of the dive boat where 34 people perished in a fire off Southern California filed a lawsuit Thursday to head off potentially costly litigation, a move condemned by some observers as disrespectful to the families of the dead.

Truth Aquatics Inc., which owned the Conception, filed the action in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles under a pre-Civil War provision of maritime law that allows it to limit its liability.

Well, this is a surprise----------not.
I can't imagine there is much money there anyway. It seems like a small company with 3 boats........one of which is gone. You can't recover if there is no money to recover.

And, they could always pull a PG&E - declare bankruptcy. (Think California Fires and all the people who lost their homes or their lives, or their businesses.)

 

[Vash01]

Dive boat owners seek to fend off lawsuits.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The owners of the dive boat where 34 people perished in a fire off Southern California filed a lawsuit Thursday to head off potentially costly litigation, a move condemned by some observers as disrespectful to the families of the dead.

Truth Aquatics Inc., which owned the Conception, filed the action in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles under a pre-Civil War provision of maritime law that allows it to limit its liability.

At first glance this appears very disrespectful toward the families and it probably is. However, given the environment we live in, anyone can sue anyone else for the smallest thing (Remember the McDonald case?). There will certainly be lawsuits for huge amounts. The company is trying to protect itself. Could they have waited a little longer? I don’t know. I am not a lawyer, so I don’t know what difference it would have made to wait and allow the families some time to grieve.

 

[Japanfan]

At first glance this appears very disrespectful toward the families and it probably is. However, given the environment we live in, anyone can sue anyone else for the smallest thing (Remember the McDonald case?). There will certainly be lawsuits for huge amounts. The company is trying to protect itself. Could they have waited a little longer? I don’t know. I am not a lawyer, so I don’t know what difference it would have made to wait and allow the families some time to grieve.

They may have needed to start the process right away. I agree it does look disrespectful, but the company wants to protect its interests, which sadly are probably more important to it the victims or the bereaved.

 

[genevieve]

...given the environment we live in, anyone can sue anyone else for the smallest thing (Remember the McDonald case?).

What a lot of people get wrong about the infamous 1994 McDonald’s hot coffee lawsuit

Adam Ruins Everything explains that the case wasn’t about greed, but about a working-class woman forcing a big company to make its product safer.

www.vox.com

The McDonald's case is often considered the poster child for frivolous lawsuits, but it was actually legit.

 

[Vash01]

What a lot of people get wrong about the infamous 1994 McDonald’s hot coffee lawsuit

Adam Ruins Everything explains that the case wasn’t about greed, but about a working-class woman forcing a big company to make its product safer.

www.vox.com

The McDonald's case is often considered the poster child for frivolous lawsuits, but it was actually legit.

I know it was legit. In my law class - many years ago - the professor who was a practicing attorney explained why. IMO the problem is with our laws which encourage people to sue for huge amounts every time something goes wrong. The boat company can be justified in taking quick action to protect themselves by limiting their losses. Unlike the huge airlines who make billions of dollars in profit, they are a small company. The loss of life- the pain and suffering - was so horrible that they will be sued for very big amounts, no matter the cause of fire.