Last week the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) released its report about the sinking of Lady Candida, which occurred last July. It’s a thorough report, detailing minute by minute how the fire was discovered and what actions the captain and five-person crew took to put it out–and get their 11 charter guests, which included a few young children, safely off the 97-footer.
It’s important to note that while the MAIB examines accidents involving UK-registered ships and yachts both in UK waters and worldwide, it does not place blame. Instead, the goal is to determine what led to the accident so that those involved as well as others may take steps to prevent similar situations from happening.
I read through the report this weekend, and it’s disturbing; it uncovered a lack of safety training and simple safety measures. Like the MAIB, I won’t engage in pointing fingers, but I will say that the Lady Candida incident needs to be a lesson not just for megayacht crews and owners, but also all of us within our own homes. Even though fires and other frightening accidents are rare, everyone needs a reminder of what to do in an emergency before one occurs.
The fire started in the yacht’s laundry area, “almost certainly caused by the ignition of accumulated lint in the air outlet of a tumble dryer,” the report states. “Previous crew had experienced overheating in the dryers due to lint blocking the air outlet, and re-occurrence had been prevented by regular cleaning. However, this information was not passed over during a short handover between crews in 2006. The stewardesses had occasionally cleared lint from the air outlet but it was not a routine procedure.” The dryers had been running all day when the fire broke out.
Other findings in the report:
* The fire-detection system didn’t function properly
* The growth of the fire was assisted by the airflow over the deck
* No water was applied to the fire because the fixed fire pump could not be started and the emergency fire pump was difficult to access
* There was no regular testing of the fire alarms or the emergency fire pump, and no fire drills were carried out onboard
* No engineer was carried and the captain had not completed mandatory fire-fighting training
* The captain was probably fatigued
* There were many departures from the requirements of the Code of Practice for the Safety of Large Commercial Sailing and Motor Vessels (LY1)
* The management of the vessel was left almost entirely to the captain and no safety-management system was in place
* The yacht foundered as a result of the large amount of water that accumulated in her hull during the fire-fighting effort.
The report (available for download at the MIAB Web site) concludes with an “action taken” section, in which the firm providing payroll and financial-management services for the owner intends to send a representative to all of its clients’ vessels to review qualifications, safety systems and drills, and other related issues.
In the meantime, whether you’re sitting aboard your yacht or at home, immediately do two things. First, clean out the lint trap in your clothes dryer. If you’ve never done it before, congratulations on still being alive, and promise yourself you won’t tempt fate ever again. The condo building I live in has just required all residents to not only clean out the lint traps but have a professional cleaning company come and vacuum out the air vents. Make an appointment for that, too.
Next run, don’t walk, to the nearest smoke detector and check that it’s working. (They’re equipped with tester buttons, often red, for that purpose.) Repeat the process until you’ve tested every single detector in your house. (And don’t tell me you don’t have any. Go get some; no excuses.) Next flip your calendar to when Daylight Savings Time begins–Sunday, March 9 here in the USA–and write in big bold letters, CHANGE SMOKE DETECTOR BATTERIES. Do the same thing for when Daylight Savings Time ends (Sunday, November 2 in the USA). Repeat after me: Change your clock, change your batteries.
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