Fire on Board the Liberian Passenger Ship Ecstasy, Miami, Florida ...
Fire on Board the Liberian Passenger Ship Ecstasy, Miami, Florida ...
Fire on Board the Liberian Passenger Ship Ecstasy, Miami, Florida ...
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Factual Informati<strong>on</strong> 47 Marine Accident Reportby ATF fire specialists showed that <strong>the</strong> lint was ignited easily by a spark and burned forseveral sec<strong>on</strong>ds, leaving little residual material behind. The minimum heat flux for anigniti<strong>on</strong> was equal to 11.5 kW/m 2 .O<strong>the</strong>r Informati<strong>on</strong>Examinati<strong>on</strong> of <strong>the</strong> Imaginati<strong>on</strong> and <strong>the</strong> FantasyAfter <strong>the</strong> <strong>Ecstasy</strong> fire, Safety <strong>Board</strong> investigators examined <strong>the</strong> Imaginati<strong>on</strong> and<strong>the</strong> Fantasy, two Fantasy line ships having <strong>the</strong> same basic arrangement as <strong>the</strong> <strong>Ecstasy</strong>.The mangles <strong>on</strong> <strong>the</strong> Imaginati<strong>on</strong> and <strong>the</strong> Fantasy differed from <strong>the</strong> mangle <strong>on</strong> <strong>the</strong><strong>Ecstasy</strong>. The Imaginati<strong>on</strong>’s mangle was built by <strong>the</strong> same company; however, <strong>the</strong> machinewas a later model, and its exhaust system was c<strong>on</strong>figured differently. The mangle in <strong>the</strong>Fantasy’s main laundry was manufactured by a different companyThe main laundry ventilati<strong>on</strong> system <strong>on</strong> <strong>the</strong> Imaginati<strong>on</strong> varies slightly from that<strong>on</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Ecstasy</strong> and <strong>the</strong> Fantasy. The plenum is divided into two secti<strong>on</strong>s: lower secti<strong>on</strong> foraccommodati<strong>on</strong> exhaust and upper secti<strong>on</strong> for laundry exhaust. In additi<strong>on</strong>, <strong>the</strong> dryers <strong>on</strong><strong>the</strong> Imaginati<strong>on</strong> had been fitted with a “centrifugal” filter. The air from <strong>the</strong> dryers isvented into this filter and <strong>the</strong>n sent out <strong>the</strong> exhaust vent. According to <strong>the</strong> laundrymanager, <strong>the</strong> filter removes a large amount of lint and is cleaned about every 3 hours, orabout four times a day, during laundry operati<strong>on</strong>. He stated that <strong>the</strong> filter does notcompletely remove lint from <strong>the</strong> air exhausted out <strong>on</strong> to <strong>the</strong> mooring deck.On <strong>the</strong> mooring deck, investigators removed <strong>the</strong> louvers <strong>on</strong> <strong>the</strong> exhaust plenumand observed lint accumulated in <strong>the</strong> plenum as well as <strong>the</strong> intake filters for <strong>the</strong> thrusterroom. They also noted that lint had collected <strong>on</strong> stored rope <strong>on</strong> <strong>the</strong> deck and <strong>on</strong> <strong>the</strong>spindled rope <strong>on</strong> <strong>the</strong> winches. Fur<strong>the</strong>r examinati<strong>on</strong> revealed that <strong>the</strong> lint was forced downinto <strong>the</strong> fibers of <strong>the</strong> rope. According to shipboard officials, <strong>the</strong> mooring crew washeddown <strong>the</strong> deck about <strong>on</strong>ce a week.During inspecti<strong>on</strong>s of <strong>the</strong> Fantasy, investigators noted that <strong>the</strong> centrifugal filterused <strong>on</strong> <strong>the</strong> Imaginati<strong>on</strong> was not yet in place <strong>on</strong> <strong>the</strong> Fantasy or <strong>on</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Ecstasy</strong>. The mangleand <strong>the</strong> dryer had separate duct systems similar to <strong>the</strong> <strong>Ecstasy</strong>. The Fantasy had a largeamount of accumulated lint. According to <strong>the</strong> Fantasy’s chief engineer, <strong>the</strong> accessibleareas of <strong>the</strong> exhaust ducts and plenum are cleaned about every 20 days, and <strong>the</strong> ducts andplenum had been cleaned about 4 or 5 days before this inspecti<strong>on</strong>. Investigators observedseveral inches of accumulated lint in <strong>the</strong> dryer ducts and plenum. The mangle ductc<strong>on</strong>tained about ½ of an inch of lint that was coated with a waxy or oily substance.On <strong>the</strong> mooring deck, <strong>the</strong> stored rope had accumulated large piles of lint.Investigators noted that <strong>the</strong> lint had become embedded into <strong>the</strong> rope fibers.