Fire on Board the Liberian Passenger Ship Ecstasy, Miami, Florida ...

Factual Information 26 Marine Accident ReportAutomatic sprinkler protection. SOLAS amendments adopted in 1992 requirethat all passenger cruise vessels constructed after October 1, 1994, and carrying more than36 passengers be protected with an automatic sprinkler system or an approved equivalentfire suppression system for all accommodation and service spaces, stairway enclosures,and corridors. Ships built before 1994 must be retrofitted with automatic sprinklers within15 years of construction or 2005, whichever is later. Because the Ecstasy was constructedin 1991, Carnival Corporation had until 2006 to comply with the SOLAS requirements forautomatic sprinklers but voluntarily installed sprinkler protection in the Ecstasy’s cabinsand staterooms at the time the ship was built. According to LR, the sprinkler protectionmet SOLAS requirements.Documents indicate that the flag administration interpreted the mooring deckdesign to be a category 5, “Open Deck Space,” as defined in SOLAS regulations, 22because the space was partially enclosed and directly open to the weather. SOLASregulations do not require that fire detection or fire suppression equipment be installed inan open deck space, and no such equipment was installed on the Ecstasy’s mooring deckbefore the 1998 fire.SOLAS regulations specify the minimum sprinkler coverage and application ratefor a ship’s sprinkler system. The designs of the Ecstasy’s pump and piling system indicatethat, as stipulated in SOLAS Chapter II-2, Regulation 12, the vessel’s sprinkler systemprovided coverage for a minimum area of 280 square meters (m 2 ) at a rate of 5 liters ofwater per m 2 per minute (5 l/m 2 /min). The system was designed to supply water for about30 sprinklers at a time, based on a coverage rate of slightly more than 10 m 2 for eachsprinkler head.Postaccident examination of the ship indicated that more than 60 sprinklersactivated on the Ecstasy. (See table 3.)The first officer who was monitoring the sprinkler alarm panel, stated that heremembered that fire zones 20 (deck No. 5, aft) and 32 (deck No. 7, aft) were the firstzones that activated on the sprinkler panel and that several other flow alarms soundedshortly thereafter. 23Investigators observed that sprinkler zones 20 and 35 indicated a “SprinklerReleased” status, meaning the system had a pressure drop. <strong>Fire</strong> zones 6, 14, 15, 21, 22, 26,32 and 33 indicated a “Master Valve Closed” status, meaning the water to these zones hadbeen shut off. The remainder of the system was operational at about 5 bar pressureaccording to the gauge on the bridge.22 See SOLAS Chapter II-2 Regulation 26-2.2 (5).23 A flow alarm is an audible alarm that sounds on the bridge when a sprinkler head starts to flow water.The system does not record the flow alarm sequence.