It's rude to just say "I'm sorry" like we understand that sort of loss, and I don't think any of us do. But it's all we can really say, so...I'm sorry.
What I appreciate about this channel is that it doesn’t rely on music. It has intro and outro music to get you comfortable, but it does a great job of simply relying on the narrator to build the tone and suspense. Feels like a real time conversation or story. It feels good to not be emotionally manipulated by music which most movies tv and other media do
Agreed--I hate being manipulated that way, and competing music is miserable for anyone with hearing impairment when they can't understand what is being said. Also, the narration on this channel is great.
Every time you travel and disregard or dismiss safety procedure instructions, try to remember that people have died horrific deaths as a result, and are warning you from the grave.
And for every fire there are a thousand instances where nothing happened. It's pretty hard to get people to actively guard against something that has practically no chance of occurring.
Theres a bit of a joke in my family with the safety announcement on one particular ferry The ferry in question is the one which we went on quite a lot when we lived on the Isle of Wight (And i would often only be half listening to the safety announcement back then, but there again i had heard it a dozen times before) At one point (i think this happened before i was born), there was a bit of an accident with the ferry, im not entirely sure what happened, but the ferry crashed into the dock, and apparently an announcement of “oops” was made And the doors onto the car decks on that ferry are a bit weird, you have to press a green button to open then (i think they are hydraulic or something like that), and after a certain amount of time they close automatically (sometimes they may be set to stay open) And at least when i last went on that ferry (which would have been over 12 years ago), if you pressed the green button when the door was closing, the door did NOT reopen, you had to wait for it to close before you could open it again (by pressing the green button)
Thank you for commenting on the fact thousands of lives changed because of this. Losing a family friend because of negligence is so so hard. No one on that boat deserved to go like this, we miss Justin, his family misses him, his employees he left behind miss him. I never want this to happen again. :(
@hayleyh14 I would urge you and all those who knew Justin to seek out professional psychiatric services if you think you need help handling this. Grief has been well researched and the vast majority of survivors are able to finally put the tragic death behind them and just move on with their lives. NO Matter what Anyone Tells You, grieving someone's death for the rest of your life is not Normal in any way. I tell you this a long time True Crime fan who has seen the grieving families of murder victims go on grieving sometimes for decades. That doesn't need to happen to anyone. Get Help if you Need Help. Pass it on.
Reading the names of the deceased shown in the plaque there is one family that lost five of its members there, how incredibly devastating must that had been for their relatives. As usual is present here too the recurring theme of the advancement of safety in many environments at the cost of people that paid the ultimate price for it, that's something that is overlooked but that we ought not take for granted in our own lives.
I wish we as people, a society and a species would more often have the foresight to at least try and be more proactive in our safety efforts, not merely responding to the tragedies which have happened before. But I suppose, unfortunately, few things are as effective at revealing safety flaws and oversights as hindsight is.
Local news covered this extensively since many of the victims came from all over California. Despite their “outstanding” record, the fact that there were no fire detectors was a major factor in the fire getting out of hand before anyone was ever alerted to it. in fact, the captain was arrested and briefly faced criminal charges. Questions also arose about how diligent the crew was in actually fighting the fire, including whether they had enough fire extinguishers on board.
Other than the lacking "roving watch" they did meet all the main safety requirements of the time- those have been upgraded now. In any fire you first alert responders, then alert persons at risk, then try to fight the fire in that order of priority. That was the largest failure here after the lack of the watch.
The investigation did not conclude that there were no smoke detectors on board. Their proposal to make linked smoke detectors mandatory supports this. From this, I assume there was a smoke detector but nobody heard it going off. The internal structure of ships like this are mostly wood, so it wouldn't have taken long for the flames to reach the smoke detector and render it inoperable. Also, due to the way ships are usually laid out, sound is swallowed relatively easily and there is quite a bit of background noise going on when anchoring out on the ocean anyways (waves, creaking, etc.). As has been pointed out, the main issue here was not following the roving watch requirement as crew on watch would have passed by some place where they could hear the smoke alarm go off or smell/see the fire almost certainly.
I'm surprised these safety measures weren't considered and implemented the year before, as it was stated there was a fire then as well...? RIP to the souls who perished
@@TheThora17 The previous fire could have had the opposite effect. In that case, crew or passengers noticed the fire and were able to put it out, so they probably concluded that the fire alerting worked properly and saw no need to improve it.
Those are the elements that make this video really weird for me as someone who had heard of it: given how recently it happened in addition to living in the state it happened in the waters of, it would be as weird as he had covered that warehouse fire in Oakland that killed 30+ people because of similar incompetence.
A high school science teacher of mine and his daughter were tragically on this boat. It was awful learning about this happening and to hear about their passing. My condolences go out to all the victims and those affected by this horrible incident.
My father and grandfather chartered this boat annually for more than a decade, and the larger boat, The Vision, for nearly two decades. I myself stayed on the Vision as a diver at least four times over four years. It was surreal to see all this unfold in the news, to say the least.
I just opened TH-cam and I was really caught off guard by this. This happened near where I live, and some of my friends are still grieving their losses. I never knew the full story until now, thank you. After being a subscriber for quite some time now, I can think of no better channel to have covered the accident.
I live in Santa Barbara and vividly recall this horrible tragedy. It was all over the local news and deservedly so. It was inconceivable that smoke detectors were not in place on a crowded boat or that a proper watch was not established. There's a reason why a roving night watch is called a fire guard!
This channel deserves so much credit for the precise unbiased accounts of events.I wish more folks would discover this channel.Kudos to a job well done.
He is one of my favorites. Never does he put a spin on it or try to make it more exciting. I actually find it more condemning and upsetting to have him speaking calmly while listing the facts, rather than having it sensationalized.
I wholeheartedly agree. There is another TH-cam crime channel where the host will subtly bash law enforcement. Sometimes blaming the police more than the actual criminal or criminals involved. It was obvious that he had an anti police viewpoint and he uses his TH-cam channel platform to push his view on others. Such a turn off, i have trouble even watching it anymore.
@@shauncasey8295 I saw one where the host was subtly anti-Christian. It was clear what she thought about them. It's a shame, because such channels COULD be very informative if not for the not-so-subtle biased slant.
Having spent time on dive boats both in the uk and in Egypt I can only say how horrific it must be to wake up in the middle of an event like this. Bunk areas are often strewn with kit and can be along a corridor to the nearest exit to the deck. I cant imagine what this event was luke to live through and those involved and their families have my total sympathy. 😕
Yeah this is how most people usually die in a fire, from suffocation. It's why smoke alarms are so important. The amount of smoke (and time) it takes to wake you up vs how much it takes to kill you is very very narrow. Bodies are often found still in their bed, or just a few feet from it.
As a diver I was saddened by this tragedy 3 of the victims were friends of someone I know through the dive industry as they were part of her program who does dive vacations for families.
It's quite fascinating indeed how being asleep doesn't certify you as a watchman. How horrible it is that 34 lives were lost for this fact to be made more obvious.
They know safe diving. They know how to drive the boat. But if their business is to simply motor for a couple hours to a coastal island and drop anchor, could it be that they are divers first, and not true mariners? The watchman issue has been raised with the skilled sailors that sail solo around the world, or on similar single-handed adventures. Some people insist that a solo voyage is a violation of maritime law, due to the fact that the sailor must sleep sometime, and there is no second person to keep watch.
Something that firefighters will regularly emphasise when asked about fire safety is that when you are asleep your sense of smell is completely disengaged. You will not wake up from the smell of smoke like you can from a noise, a light turning on, or from being touched. It's impossible. It's why you should be careful about power outlets in bedrooms and ideally have smoke alarms in all bedrooms as well as other likely places for fires to start like kitchens.
I was told this story when I started working on a boat and standing night watches. Remembering their story kept me awake and vigilant, even when I was tired and cranky.
How exactly the Captain came to the conclusion that having someone napping on the job equaled having someone on watch is beyond me. I can understand a little bit of complacency that can come around from a string of good luck and the mindset “well, nothing bad has happened so far. What’s the harm?” But there has to be a limit.
It’s a ridiculous rule. It’s a 75-foot boat, there is no reason for someone to be staying awake all night solely to be a fire alarm. All the blame firmly rests on whoever allowed that 100-year-old rule to stand.
@@mushyroom9569 They should have foreseen dodgy aftermarket cellphone batteries 100 years ago for sure and realized little would be lost if one caught on fire, thereby establising that there is no reason anyone should pay attention to anything ever.
@@mushyroom9569 it's a ship. There should be someone awake on watch in general. Listening for radio warnings, etc, in addition to firewatch. On a small boat, with not many people, it's more understandable to not have someone on watch. But as a business, it's negligent.
@@owlsayssouth What radio warning do you expect in the middle of the night on the open ocean? Edit: also keep in mind that having a nightwatchman means that you will have 1 less crewmember to deal with any situations that arise during the day when you are sailing or, you know, actually diving, which is a hugely risky activity.
@@mushyroom9569 First you say, "It’s a ridiculous rule. It’s a 75-foot boat, there is no reason for someone to be staying awake all night solely to be a fire alarm." Yeah, nothing reveals what a "ridiculous" rule is like losing a whole bunch of people by not following it. Then you say, "All the blame firmly rests on whoever allowed that 100-year-old rule to stand." In other words, you're saying, "The lives were lost by not following the rule, so let's blame the loss on the guy who wrote the rule they didn't follow." And in your last statement, you said, diving is a "hugely risky activity." That's not only not true, it's irrelevant. These victims weren't diving, they were sleeping. What's next, sleeping is a hugely risky activity? OMG. I'd love to hear you debate something. Anything.
Interesting to hear of a company that actually made positive mitigating actions after something like that rather than folding and running away from the table
I am a little confused though, as the safety measures the company took are explained, however at 8:47 he stated operations were ceased, with no plans of starting again. So they took the measures then folded the company in the end?
@@dellahicks7231 I wonder if it was a trauma response - they made the changes, but still didn't feel up to restarting the business. Or that the publicity was bad and wanted to let it simmer down before taking new reservations.
@@Erin-rg3dw this. I think this is the reason. Remember. Its a family buisness. And a tragedy like this might simply and legitimatly have been to much for them mentaly and emotionally. Which kinda just makes it more sad :c
@@dellahicks7231 remember the accident happened in 2019, it’s very likely their business got hammered by the COVID shutdown, there’s no way they could have operated a charter like that. However I’m just speculating. Edit-they shut down before covid restrictions it seems, but I’m sure they didn’t help
Knowing that this happened in 2019 is just insane to me. Have we learned nothing from history? How many more people have to die due to laziness and incompetence before people stop taking short cuts and cheats?
Right? I had to rewind twice to make sure I heard the date correctly because I was shocked to hear the long list of fire safety violations being outlined. I was like "wait... this happened in 2019"? Either way, it's heartbreaking to hear so many lives were lost in tragedies like this due to neglegence, no matter when they happened.
I live in the region this happened. Was definitely a big story here but you added a number of things I didn't know, which I appreciate. This goes to show why there are safety regulations. It doesn't matter if nothing went wrong for 30 years while ignoring them, it only takes one incident to cause a disaster.
in those thirty years, many advances were made in battery chargers and upscale video/camera batteries and you have to keep up to date. No excuses. All that upscale equipment means HEAT generated by all those rechargeable batteries. You can't just ad hoc: you would need to have a Sea-Can on the deck ventilated and not exposed to where people are SLEEPING, for God's sake.
Interesting the why once the captain bailed his crew went to assist and reboarded an obviously doomed vessel. The logs show more after hours crew activity than broadcasted locally. Interesting too the company remains shuttered as the case crawls through the courts. All would agree no monetary judgment will restore entire families who happily took a risky sport trip only to be blindsided by disaster. To wrap, seems there were the usual combo of finally too many lapses, no available fireproof charge box upgrade and very interesting about the interruption during the safety drill with the fainting gal. Peace to the survivors, RIP to the last dive trip on the Conception 💐
As a diver myself this story is so tragic. All fires are bad, but electrical fires with burning wires, batteries, etc., are especially toxic. The fumes can overwhelm you in a matter of seconds compared to "regular" smoke. I once had some wiring and a small capacitor that was related to my car stereo catch on fire while I was driving. Lucikly I was on a residential street at slow speed because the fumes and smoke made it nearly impossible to breathe within seconds. Taking a single breath caused an almost immediate involuntary reaction of severe coughing. I had 3 passengers in the car and 1 of them had to be treated at the ER for breathing difficulties even though from the start of the fire to all of us getting out of the car was only 10 - 20 secods at the most.
Great documentary. This hits home as my fiance at the time was a Captain for Truth Aquatics in the mid 90's. I would sometimes work in the galley and spent a lot of time on these boats (mostly the Truth). Lots of great memories. It is really sad that this happened and totally preventable.
Is that a photo of the actual boat - the one at the start? I’m trying to imagine almost 40 people living and sleeping onboard and...wow, it must have been so crowded.
Yes. I’ve taken a dive trip on a boat such as this (Spectre, which still operates in the Catalina Islands). Sleeping area basically a cabin filled floor to ceiling with bunks, like a warship.
I was on that boat in 2017, on what was likely the exact same trip (2 or 3 day liveabord to the Channel Islands). We had 12 or 13 divers -- far less than 33. And the bunk room felt cramped at that. The stairway up was a narrow circular stair, and getting people out in a hurry would be difficult, especially for 33 people. There was an emergency exit at the back of the room (I think), but that would have exited out right next to the charging area, where the fire likely started.
My family's crazy about diving, and yes- it gets crowded in those boats. Never heard of a small vessel like that holding >30 people, though. Normally it's around 15 people or less.
I’m so thankful for this channel, and your hard work. I watch you every time you upload, it can be so entertaining and you don’t dramatise these stories for clout. Keep up the awesome work!
One of my first jobs was on a charter boat with overnight guests. I was too inexperienced to realize how wrong it was but we had no night guard, no interlinked smoke alarms, and no fire drills. I just wonder now how common this is.
@@alaskau9175 Probably very considering how alluringly "cost effective" it is to cut corners safety measures to save money...at least until someone gets killed and then you maybe get sued into oblivion like you should, though sadly that latter part is something larger companies tend to avoid.
I hope we can blame the lack of a fire drill coming from simple human error, considering that someone had fainted beforehand. When one emergency happens, you tend to stop and forget about the stuff you were busy doing.
@@aformerhiro7383 well as the escape hatch opened into the part of galley that was on fire. Even if a fire drill was done it wouldn't have helped much.
I had heard of this incident before, but this telling of it was excellent. After so many FH videos, I now find myself asking, whenever I get into a vessel or enclosed space, how would I get out if I had to? Fire is the worst.
If you are accepting of suggestions, I hope you would consider looking into the Doña Paz Tragedy. It's being called Asia's Titanic for good (very bad, terrible) reason. A factual, non-sensationalized documentary about this tragedy would be much appreciated!
Like Daffers said, I sent him a suggestion through email and he responded. He even eventually did the topic! It also helps to send some links with information when requesting
I hate burned-out hulks of anything - cars, houses, etc. The image of the burned boat is absolutely terrible, let alone thinking about what happened as they struggled in the fire. :(
They probably died of smoke inhalation in their sleep. Diving all day is exhausting and there wasn’t any evidence of a crush towards the exit during body recovery. Toxicology reports show that smoke inhalation was the main cause of death.
There was a cell call placed but cut out almost immediately ( female passenger I recall, LA Times) and perhaps she or another found with shoes on, same source. RIP indeed & sad to see the company initially back pedaling HARD to protect themselves. In shock is how the cap may have irresponsibly called on radio and jumped ship and his crew did follow as it seems by all accounts by then the Conception was totally engulfed😭. I hadn't heard the skiff part previously and thank our host for in-depth, verifiable and calmly delivered ( the entry chill music I like🤗) deep dives which at least for me are cautionary tales.
Another excellent video! They were regarded as one of the best operations in the area, so one must wonder how bad the others might have been. And again we see where we all need to pay special attention to where exits are and be ready to use them although that may not have done any good here. Likely the fire above them went unnoticed in the bunk area till it was too late. Earlier warning might have seen at least some able to get through the smoke and fire. Sleeping arrangements should always have an alternate direct path to the outside always kept clear and accessible. At least here these operations have learned from this tragedy and there is much closer attention and requirements for safety from the government now. Lithium batteries are a wonderful power source till things go wrong, and few people understand that they require special attention in their use and charging. Each one can behave like the flaming hoverboard vids we've all seen. If anything unusual is noted with any lithium battery stop using it immediately. Best to charge in a fireproof box (impractical) but you can and should do your charging with supervision, as that's when things usually go wrong. And always keep charging batteries away from anything which may easily ignite. Any batteries not in a device need to be placed where they cannot short-circuit against anything metallic.
Just off the top of my head, an ordinary cake pan can serve as a fire proof box without being too inordinately impractical... older, used ones can be found in garage sales, thrift stores, and flea markets, so they're not expensive... Depending on the device, it wouldn't take much more to protect from spreading hazard or heat... even the flashy sparks like shown in those hoverboard fails videos we enjoyed a couple years back... AND those aren't the only things available for such improvised containment. It would depend on the battery and device in question, of course, and with space and weight being commodities onboard a vessel, obviously some limits need to be discussed "case by case"... BUT I've left freshly welded metal to cool in nothing more than a cake-pan about half full of sand with a welding blanket or old wool Army blanket over the top without trouble... just as an example. Fireproofing shouldn't be all that inconvenient. It just takes a little bit of planning and someone unafraid to point it out and follow through. ;o)
I find it interesting that, despite being able to improve their practices to prevent future disasters, the company voluntarily ceased operations. I could imagine the survivor guilt just being too great for the company, employees, and owners to continue, even if legally, financially, and by reputation the business could have survived. The survivor guilt must be especially bad for the crewmembers, they who were responsible for the safety of the passengers yet were the only ones to survive. Though they made some mistakes, I don't feel like this was a severe case of negligence or malice, more lack of understanding of the rules, or other rules being sufficiently complied with but - nobody realized - still not good enough in an emergency. I hope they can find some peace eventually.
Those rules are the captains job. That's why he is licensed. There is no excuse, and it was all and only negligence. When everyone else is confused or lazy the captain is trained, licensed and paid to be the one who knowns and enforces the rules.
Excellent. I have been looking for a new one. Not that I enjoy tragic events. In fact this keeps me in line. Shows me that things can indeed be far worse whenever I get down on life. These reminders are truly helpful.
It has helped me not to cut corners or try to do things the wrong way at work, because I don't want to get hurt! It's also helped me to be more observant of my surroundings, especially in a strange building. I always look for sprinklers/HALON and exits now.
I work on a lunch and dinner cruise ship (no overnights) and remember our Port Captain implementing a slew of changes after this happened. Interesting to finally hear an in-depth analysis of what happened rather than the highlights you get in a 30 second news blurb.
When I was in H.S. I spent a lot of time on the Conception because a friend worked on the boat and we would always hang out there. It was a beautiful boat and such a sad tragic ending.
On the "bright" side (such as it is), most of the passengers likely died from smoke inhalation, quite possibly never waking up. That's how fire usually kills - carbon monoxide and other poisons generated by the combustion process will knock you out and kill you long before the flames reach you. Since the damage was so extensive, there is no way to know for sure, however, and very little in the way of remains was ever recovered. This was huge news at the time in California, where I spent most of my life until '20 when we left the state.
@@chatteyj id take my chances trying to swim, but if its a hard "drown or burn" I have to ask 2 further questions: how cold is the water and how hot is the fire? When pushed to their extreme temperatures, both would be pretty quick and painless. I would rather jump into a blast furnace like a rat than drown in say a room temperature fish tank. Drowning is painful. VERY painful, but if it's cold enough, you'll lose feeling and consciousness before you can really register the lack of air. In Alaskan fishing, sailors who go overboard can expect death within or just over a minute in icey waters. I would rather jump into the northern pacific in winter than get burned at the stake.
Same here. He's respectful, as accurate as he can be, and refuses to sensationalize. I believe he's truly out to inform, not get "hits" or likes/subscribes. I respect him greatly for that, and I recommend him too.
This is from the beforetimes, so I’d forgotten this one. But I remember it being a big deal because my bestie’s boyfriend turned down joining this trip and as the dive community in NorCal is only so big, loosing 30+ people was insane. They all knew each other. It was a hard hit. Wild what 2020 made me forget.
Once again, Fascinating Horror brings to my attention a tragedy that would have never been heard of and forgotten to time. A tragedy that could have easily been prevented, yet happened so quickly due to shortcomings in basic safety protocols
I live nearby and have been on several of the boats including the conception. Have been to the small memorial that families have left nearby as well. So sad about everything that went down. RIP
Thank you for covering this story! I really appreciate you going into full detail on its history and the events that followed the incident. This one hits closest to home as I was a passenger on the sister ship, the Vision, for a school trip just 4 years prior to the incident. Our school gave many of our graduating classes the opportunity to go on a three day excursion aboard to visit the islands off the coast and learn about marine biology, with the girls onboard the Vision and the boys onboard the Conception. It was my first time on a ship and I remember having a lot of anxiety over something happening along the way. Since the Vision and Conception were similar in structure, I can tell you that the ship did feel a bit cramped, especially in the sleeping area. The entire ship felt outdated, and with how little safety precautions they turned out to have, that just further emphasizes my point. Despite this, I have some very fond memories from that trip. But looking back on those memories every now and then will leave me haunted by the Conception disaster. It's just horrific to imagine waking up to trouble and being trapped in such a tight space with nowhere to go. I hope those aboard the ship that day are resting well now.
Good video, I missed the story when it happened. I was stunned to see the names of two people I'd met a few times on the memorial. One was a supporter of a nonprofit I used to work for, the other was her husband. Both techies, both were very nice people, even to a low-level minion like me.
You do so well recounting these disasters. If this was MrBallen, he would have 25 dramatic personal accounts of feelings actions and conversations of people who were trapped and never had any way to tell anyone their story. So thank you.
I live in Ventura, California and I remember when this happened. I usually just run the coast as I only have a bay-liner. But the truth of it is help always seems so far away. Fire extinguishers and life jackets are SO IMPORTANT! I just wish that boaters would put safety before fun.
Definition of a death trap. So many people in a confined space with only one exit. Hopefully they passed out from smoke inhalation before the flames came. Crazy that the conditions that allow the like are still tolerated in this century.
I saw it when it happened, you could see it from the beach. I smelled something terrible burning, and you could see a small fire way out there and eventually the coast guard
The thing that struck me (apart from the lack of a viable fire exit) was the lack of a night watchman. Even ships with no one aboard, will have a shipkeeper, essentially a security guard, to check on things like this. I thought it would have been second nature to the captain and crew to have someone awake at night.
This day broke my heart, I couldn’t believe this tragedy and thought to myself, this could have been me and my wife and any live aboard dive boat in the world. In 2017 we took a trip to Belize and stayed on the Sundancer which is now the Belize Aggressor IV. 2019 this accident happens and 2020 we’re all stuck at home. 2021, we went back to Belize and stayed on the same ship but the new protocols because of the Conception disaster were amazing and we were so happy they implemented them. Since this accident I pay tribute to all who lost their lives because the dive community is family to me. They are on their forever dive and I pray for them all God speed
I took a dive trip on Conception in the late 80s and we probably anchored in the same location off Santa Cruz island. I recall feeling claustrophobic down below in my bunk, and I'm not sure I knew where the little escape hatch was even located.
I'm surprised none of the previous passengers complained about the safety issues? Having all emergency exits going to an enclosed room above seems like a safety hazard to me? One look at the map of the boat should have told people so.
Have to confess: when you stated that one passenger fainted when the crew member was talking about the boat's fire safety features, I assumed the two were linked, and figured that the passenger was really freaked out by the briefing for some reason!
Having been on dive boats and liveaboards before, this is terrifying. My dad actually had been on this boat many years ago (in the 90s) and that creeped him out even more. Several of us divers were talking about it early on, and one said I'll bet it has to do with a charging station. I'm from California so we heard all about this from local and State news. Every time we saw a new broadcast, there was a new domino dropped. There were so many issues here that compounded and dominoed that lead to catastrophe, it's just so sad.
This story made me think of the table rock lake duck boat accident back in July of 2018. Another horrible tragedy especially for that one woman survivor.
I just watched Brick Immortar's new video on that incident, so I was also thinking about it. To be trapped on a boat, either by water or fire, is a truly fearful way to go.
When this hit the news a couple years ago, I was floored. The first boat dive I ever took was aboard the Conception. It was very well run and I remember running into the "night watchman". I've always felt an attachment to this organization because over several trips with them, safety was always paramount. It bothered me, when they all cut and ran. But, California is covered in lawyers and I don't see how they could survive that.
I dove on the boat for two trips. They were such a good diver company and I defended them for awhile. After hearing about there noncompliance with serval safety standard I don’t defend them anymore. That bunk room would have been almost impossible to evacuate from. So scary
I lost a friend on this boat... Neal Baltz... (We met diving in Texas). Total shame and waste of life that could have been easily prevented had someone been properly standing watch. RIP to all who died, and thoughts and prayers to the loved ones and friends..
I watched this develop when it happened. I am just a lowly rec. diver here in Florida but I have been on boats like this. I remember when the news broke I was deeply saddened by the events and could not help but think of my 2 boys being stuck in that situation and how sad all that would have been for the families of those killed. Rest in peace to all that didnt make it out.
One lesson from this horrible incident is how important it is for people managing safety to look past the most obvious risks. Watching the NTSB hearing, it was clear that this didn't come out of the crew or management being indifferent and cheap like in a lot of other preventable disasters. The people in charge of the Conception appeared to genuinely believe they were running a safe operation and proactively did things to try to maintain that. The problem was that they framed "safety" almost entirely around managing the risks of diving. Diving instructors and professionals make decisions every day to avoid risks that they know a lot about, and are often guiding less experienced clients to do so. Their daily experience reinforces the safety procedures that are important. They don't confront fire safety routinely in the same way. They probably don't know anyone hurt in a fire on a dive boat. They haven't heard all sorts of scary stories about dive boat fires from experienced people. If they think about fire as a real possibility, they probably picture something they could put out with a fire extinguisher that passengers would have lots of time to get out of the way of. It doesn't seem like they ever imagined a fire trapping their passengers below deck. And the oversight wasn't there to make sure they ever thought about it. On November 10th, 2000, nobody had ever been seriously hurt by a fire on a funicular train. The next day 155 people died in Kaprun. Afterwards, it was horribly obvious that the risk of fire wasn't well managed and that a fire happening at the wrong time would be easily able to cut off any chance of escape for the passengers. We need to take the risks around us seriously even when "nothing like that ever happened here before."
Just reading the title I thought this was going to be about the accidents and mishaps of the earliest submarines. Or the story of two divers starting a family, but that seemed like an unlikely subject for this channel :P
I remember hearing about this on the radio, I live right next to where it happened. There was (and still is) a memorial at the end of the breakwater at the harbor.
This was my suggestion! As a local, the lack of safety features and actions of the crew were so absolutely disgraceful that I thought it would be a perfect "what not to do." Captain should be in jail for a long ass time
Wow, this is the first I've heard of this disaster! If you're interested in covering another US pleasure cruise disaster, you should look into the Table Rock Lake duck boat accident in 2018, where a nasty storm sank a boat and killed 17 (including 9 from a single family).
Brick Immortar just posted a video about this on Nov. 20. It's titled, "Normalized Negligence." I haven't watched it yet, but that title could apply to the Conception and to so many other incidents over the years.
My friend was supposed to be a scuba instructor on that boat on that trip but canceled last minute because she had an ear infection. what’s worse is another of her friends is the one who replaced her on the trip because she canceled. Her friends and coworkers died being burned alive. Haunts her to this day.
A lifesaving ear infection. I cannot imagine what she is going thru but hope she has plenty of support and on her way to healing. With that sort of job, it is wise not to work when not in the best of health. Possible extreme dangers that might only be survivable if you're at your very best.
Dang. So many conflicting emotions. Gratefulness to be alive, the realization it could've been her, the guilt that someone else took her place and that person's family has to go thru pain, I hope your friend finds a way to heal. I know words mean little in a situation like this since I'm a stranger but still. The only thing I can relate is that she's not a murderer. As much as the mind may go there, she didn't know. As much as she may feel guilty, she didn't intend for it to happen. It takes a good amount of time to face that truth. Sorry just thought about my own experience and hopefully could say a few things.
As well as having a crewman on watch at night to ensure the boat is safe, usually, a two-hour watch till he wakes up a relief crewman, their other main duty is to maintain an anchor watch as well. This is to ensure the vessel doesn't drag the anchor and allow the vessel to drift towards land, and possibly run aground on rocks or the beach. The anchor may drag if a change in wind direction and speed during the night pushes the boat towards a Lee shore, also known as a Leeward shore.
The captain, Jerry Boylan, will be going to trial next month (Dec 22). He's 68, and the ridiculous failure to mention the word 'fire' in his mayday call perhaps indicates a mentally-impaired senior. I wonder if his defence will try to use that....
If the captain believes he is mentally incompetent due to age then it would have been his duty to relinquish his post. That’s not a valid defense - it’s actually an admission of guilt. negligent behavior and poor decision making
@@drdrew3 Well yes I agree- but US defence attorneys will try anything. Actually, his age will play directly against any 'I didn't know the exact 'Roving Night-Watchman' rules'. He had been sailing for decades, and will have known them very well- it was his choice to let them slide.
The captain’s best defense is to contend that all those code and protocol violations were the responsibility of his employer. The boat was supplied by then. The equipment was maintained by them. The crew was hired by them. Pretty good chance the judge himself is also a 68 year old guy who would laugh at the suggestion that adults are old and senile at that age. He was a crappy captain but I doubt criminal charges will stick - the employer has deep pockets with insurance to cover a big payout in civil proceedings - they bear the brunt of the responsibility for bad training and improper equipment
Santa Barbara is my hometown. I am quite astonished to have only just heard of this disaster till now. I am pretty certain I traveled on one of those boats on a trip to the Channel Islands in my elementary school days.
The interpretation of Roving Patrol as "sleep with the passengers" is one of the most astonishingly STUPID cases of willful negligence I've ever heard of.
I remember when this happened...I live in So Cal and this was all over the news for awhile...when I think of all the boats I've stayed on over the years, fire was absolutely the last thing I would have worried about Speaking of fire...several years ago there were a lot of people renting space in an Oakland warehouse...one night a live band played...the fire that followed was horrific & deadly, and months of news coverage exposed the lack of oversight by the city, and the desperation of artists in the Bay Area trying to find affordable housing...maybe you could take a look at that incident? I haven't seen it covered by anyone else
So…a similar incident happened on a sister ship the previous year, and they didn’t learn from that mistake? The upgrades they made should have been the standard (especially the emergency exits, smoke alarms, and fireproof cabinets).
PLEASE 🥺 make a video on the buffalo creek dam disaster in West Virginia back in the 70s. There isn't a single good video on TH-cam that explains what happened! I'd love to see my home state and town represented on this channel!!!
A couple old friends of mine were on this boat. I absolutely appreciate the respectful and thorough manner this was presented…
Damn. I'm sorry
My condolences. It was avoidable, and I think that adds to the tragedy.
I am so very sorry.
I am so sorry 😞.
It's rude to just say "I'm sorry" like we understand that sort of loss, and I don't think any of us do. But it's all we can really say, so...I'm sorry.
What I appreciate about this channel is that it doesn’t rely on music. It has intro and outro music to get you comfortable, but it does a great job of simply relying on the narrator to build the tone and suspense. Feels like a real time conversation or story. It feels good to not be emotionally manipulated by music which most movies tv and other media do
Agreed--I hate being manipulated that way, and competing music is miserable for anyone with hearing impairment when they can't understand what is being said. Also, the narration on this channel is great.
Every time you travel and disregard or dismiss safety procedure instructions, try to remember that people have died horrific deaths as a result, and are warning you from the grave.
And for every fire there are a thousand instances where nothing happened. It's pretty hard to get people to actively guard against something that has practically no chance of occurring.
Interesting.
Theres a bit of a joke in my family with the safety announcement on one particular ferry
The ferry in question is the one which we went on quite a lot when we lived on the Isle of Wight
(And i would often only be half listening to the safety announcement back then, but there again i had heard it a dozen times before)
At one point (i think this happened before i was born), there was a bit of an accident with the ferry, im not entirely sure what happened, but the ferry crashed into the dock, and apparently an announcement of “oops” was made
And the doors onto the car decks on that ferry are a bit weird, you have to press a green button to open then (i think they are hydraulic or something like that), and after a certain amount of time they close automatically (sometimes they may be set to stay open)
And at least when i last went on that ferry (which would have been over 12 years ago), if you pressed the green button when the door was closing, the door did NOT reopen, you had to wait for it to close before you could open it again (by pressing the green button)
The upgrades they made afterwards should have already been in place a long time ago. They’re just locking up the barn after the horses have escaped.
You mean if you don't want to end up in one of this stories then obey safety precautions
Thank you for commenting on the fact thousands of lives changed because of this. Losing a family friend because of negligence is so so hard. No one on that boat deserved to go like this, we miss Justin, his family misses him, his employees he left behind miss him. I never want this to happen again. :(
Terrible what happened. My condolences. Very sad horrible loss..
I couldn't even imagine the pain. May he rest in peace 🕊️
Sorry for your loss
@hayleyh14 I would urge you and all those who knew Justin to seek out professional psychiatric services if you think you need help handling this. Grief has been well researched and the vast majority of survivors are able to finally put the tragic death behind them and just move on with their lives. NO Matter what Anyone Tells You, grieving someone's death for the rest of your life is not Normal in any way. I tell you this a long time True Crime fan who has seen the grieving families of murder victims go on grieving sometimes for decades. That doesn't need to happen to anyone. Get Help if you Need Help. Pass it on.
That’s really sad I’m so sorry :(
Reading the names of the deceased shown in the plaque there is one family that lost five of its members there, how incredibly devastating must that had been for their relatives. As usual is present here too the recurring theme of the advancement of safety in many environments at the cost of people that paid the ultimate price for it, that's something that is overlooked but that we ought not take for granted in our own lives.
I was thinking the very same thing as I read the names on the memorial.Devistating doesn't begin to cover the pain family members endured.
It was 💔
Safety regulations are written in blood.
I wish we as people, a society and a species would more often have the foresight to at least try and be more proactive in our safety efforts, not merely responding to the tragedies which have happened before. But I suppose, unfortunately, few things are as effective at revealing safety flaws and oversights as hindsight is.
I don’t even know 5 members of my family. I basically only know the people I have to work with.
Local news covered this extensively since many of the victims came from all over California. Despite their “outstanding” record, the fact that there were no fire detectors was a major factor in the fire getting out of hand before anyone was ever alerted to it. in fact, the captain was arrested and briefly faced criminal charges. Questions also arose about how diligent the crew was in actually fighting the fire, including whether they had enough fire extinguishers on board.
Other than the lacking "roving watch" they did meet all the main safety requirements of the time- those have been upgraded now. In any fire you first alert responders, then alert persons at risk, then try to fight the fire in that order of priority. That was the largest failure here after the lack of the watch.
The investigation did not conclude that there were no smoke detectors on board. Their proposal to make linked smoke detectors mandatory supports this. From this, I assume there was a smoke detector but nobody heard it going off. The internal structure of ships like this are mostly wood, so it wouldn't have taken long for the flames to reach the smoke detector and render it inoperable. Also, due to the way ships are usually laid out, sound is swallowed relatively easily and there is quite a bit of background noise going on when anchoring out on the ocean anyways (waves, creaking, etc.). As has been pointed out, the main issue here was not following the roving watch requirement as crew on watch would have passed by some place where they could hear the smoke alarm go off or smell/see the fire almost certainly.
I'm surprised these safety measures weren't considered and implemented the year before, as it was stated there was a fire then as well...? RIP to the souls who perished
@@TheThora17 The previous fire could have had the opposite effect. In that case, crew or passengers noticed the fire and were able to put it out, so they probably concluded that the fire alerting worked properly and saw no need to improve it.
@@P_RO_ They didn't even call in the emergency correctly. FIRE ONBOARD!
I would probably have never known about this without Fascinating Horror, so many tragedies lost in time
Right? This channel and those like it fkn rule....
I microwaved popcorn too long, almost caught fire and smelled awful for a month, disaster
Fire drills, smoke detectors and lifeboat training would have done a lot here
It was a giant story on the news I'm surprised you missed it.
Like when I heard about nutty putty caves and I realized the true worst way to die on this planet
I'm incredibly shocked I never heard of this, considering how recently it happened and how many people were killed. Absolutely awful tragedy
It was definitely in the national news -- or at least, as is so often the case, the beginning of the story was.
Friggin amazing 😨. But 33 people??
Yeah I'm surprised I never heard of this either. What a sad thing to happen, RIP.
Those are the elements that make this video really weird for me as someone who had heard of it: given how recently it happened in addition to living in the state it happened in the waters of, it would be as weird as he had covered that warehouse fire in Oakland that killed 30+ people because of similar incompetence.
I only heard about it through my friends group because two old friends were on this boat and died.
A high school science teacher of mine and his daughter were tragically on this boat. It was awful learning about this happening and to hear about their passing. My condolences go out to all the victims and those affected by this horrible incident.
I am so sorry 😞.
That was my best friend Kendra, and her dad. She just turned 26 that weekend. :(
My father and grandfather chartered this boat annually for more than a decade, and the larger boat, The Vision, for nearly two decades. I myself stayed on the Vision as a diver at least four times over four years. It was surreal to see all this unfold in the news, to say the least.
I just opened TH-cam and I was really caught off guard by this. This happened near where I live, and some of my friends are still grieving their losses. I never knew the full story until now, thank you. After being a subscriber for quite some time now, I can think of no better channel to have covered the accident.
I am so sorry 😞.
A new upload from Fascinating Horror is always a bittersweet moment. Rest in Peace to all of the deceased
I live in Santa Barbara and vividly recall this horrible tragedy. It was all over the local news and deservedly so. It was inconceivable that smoke detectors were not in place on a crowded boat or that a proper watch was not established. There's a reason why a roving night watch is called a fire guard!
I live here. My bf was on a fishing boat a few miles away and rushed to help. This was crazy. Peace be to all who perished.
This channel deserves so much credit for the precise unbiased accounts of events.I wish more folks would discover this channel.Kudos to a job well done.
He is one of my favorites. Never does he put a spin on it or try to make it more exciting. I actually find it more condemning and upsetting to have him speaking calmly while listing the facts, rather than having it sensationalized.
I love it and you don’t see it much for sure
Agreed, accurate and honest. I love the fact that there is no nonsense and self promotion before the story starts. Thank you ❤️
I wholeheartedly agree. There is another TH-cam crime channel where the host will subtly bash law enforcement. Sometimes blaming the police more than the actual criminal or criminals involved. It was obvious that he had an anti police viewpoint and he uses his TH-cam channel platform to push his view on others. Such a turn off, i have trouble even watching it anymore.
@@shauncasey8295 I saw one where the host was subtly anti-Christian. It was clear what she thought about them. It's a shame, because such channels COULD be very informative if not for the not-so-subtle biased slant.
There's something unusually tragic about 34 people losing their lives to a fire while surrounded on all sides by water.
Fire has always been one of the greatest dangers to a ship. Awful way to go.
Having spent time on dive boats both in the uk and in Egypt I can only say how horrific it must be to wake up in the middle of an event like this.
Bunk areas are often strewn with kit and can be along a corridor to the nearest exit to the deck. I cant imagine what this event was luke to live through and those involved and their families have my total sympathy. 😕
Yeah this is how most people usually die in a fire, from suffocation. It's why smoke alarms are so important. The amount of smoke (and time) it takes to wake you up vs how much it takes to kill you is very very narrow. Bodies are often found still in their bed, or just a few feet from it.
@@garetheckley7018 I'm sure some people simply fell unconscious whilst asleep... I can only hope my end is this peaceful.
I had a friend who was murdered by fire. The police said it was suicide but everyone I talked to said fire was their greatest fear.
@@hellomark1 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
unless major details weren’t reported all the rest died in their sleep
As a diver I was saddened by this tragedy 3 of the victims were friends of someone I know through the dive industry as they were part of her program who does dive vacations for families.
It's quite fascinating indeed how being asleep doesn't certify you as a watchman. How horrible it is that 34 lives were lost for this fact to be made more obvious.
It’s pretty obvious to the rest of us that a WATCHman can’t WATCH when he’s asleep - a WATCHman by definition needs to have his eyes open
They know safe diving. They know how to drive the boat. But if their business is to simply motor for a couple hours to a coastal island and drop anchor, could it be that they are divers first, and not true mariners?
The watchman issue has been raised with the skilled sailors that sail solo around the world, or on similar single-handed adventures. Some people insist that a solo voyage is a violation of maritime law, due to the fact that the sailor must sleep sometime, and there is no second person to keep watch.
The trick to being a watchman is being asleep when you are certain nobody is watching you AND when you are certain you can look awake when someone is.
sailing solo is a lot different than carrying passengers . some in here act like they know it all , when they don’t know shit
Something that firefighters will regularly emphasise when asked about fire safety is that when you are asleep your sense of smell is completely disengaged. You will not wake up from the smell of smoke like you can from a noise, a light turning on, or from being touched. It's impossible. It's why you should be careful about power outlets in bedrooms and ideally have smoke alarms in all bedrooms as well as other likely places for fires to start like kitchens.
I was told this story when I started working on a boat and standing night watches. Remembering their story kept me awake and vigilant, even when I was tired and cranky.
How exactly the Captain came to the conclusion that having someone napping on the job equaled having someone on watch is beyond me.
I can understand a little bit of complacency that can come around from a string of good luck and the mindset “well, nothing bad has happened so far. What’s the harm?”
But there has to be a limit.
It’s a ridiculous rule. It’s a 75-foot boat, there is no reason for someone to be staying awake all night solely to be a fire alarm. All the blame firmly rests on whoever allowed that 100-year-old rule to stand.
@@mushyroom9569 They should have foreseen dodgy aftermarket cellphone batteries 100 years ago for sure and realized little would be lost if one caught on fire, thereby establising that there is no reason anyone should pay attention to anything ever.
@@mushyroom9569 it's a ship. There should be someone awake on watch in general. Listening for radio warnings, etc, in addition to firewatch. On a small boat, with not many people, it's more understandable to not have someone on watch. But as a business, it's negligent.
@@owlsayssouth What radio warning do you expect in the middle of the night on the open ocean?
Edit: also keep in mind that having a nightwatchman means that you will have 1 less crewmember to deal with any situations that arise during the day when you are sailing or, you know, actually diving, which is a hugely risky activity.
@@mushyroom9569 First you say, "It’s a ridiculous rule. It’s a 75-foot boat, there is no reason for someone to be staying awake all night solely to be a fire alarm." Yeah, nothing reveals what a "ridiculous" rule is like losing a whole bunch of people by not following it. Then you say, "All the blame firmly rests on whoever allowed that 100-year-old rule to stand." In other words, you're saying, "The lives were lost by not following the rule, so let's blame the loss on the guy who wrote the rule they didn't follow." And in your last statement, you said, diving is a "hugely risky activity." That's not only not true, it's irrelevant. These victims weren't diving, they were sleeping. What's next, sleeping is a hugely risky activity? OMG. I'd love to hear you debate something. Anything.
Interesting to hear of a company that actually made positive mitigating actions after something like that rather than folding and running away from the table
Not unusual.
But exeedingly rare. Especially for a usa company.
Just shows their good reputation was well deserved
I am a little confused though, as the safety measures the company took are explained, however at 8:47 he stated operations were ceased, with no plans of starting again.
So they took the measures then folded the company in the end?
@@dellahicks7231 I wonder if it was a trauma response - they made the changes, but still didn't feel up to restarting the business. Or that the publicity was bad and wanted to let it simmer down before taking new reservations.
@@Erin-rg3dw this.
I think this is the reason.
Remember. Its a family buisness.
And a tragedy like this might simply and legitimatly have been to much for them mentaly and emotionally.
Which kinda just makes it more sad :c
@@dellahicks7231 remember the accident happened in 2019, it’s very likely their business got hammered by the COVID shutdown, there’s no way they could have operated a charter like that. However I’m just speculating. Edit-they shut down before covid restrictions it seems, but I’m sure they didn’t help
I'm in a completely different time zone, and I don't know if I've ever seen your video so quickly after it's posted. Thanks for all your work.
@hey it's pete you sarcaustic basket !
Always sad when safety measures are introduced after a tragedy, but not before. 🌧
Knowing that this happened in 2019 is just insane to me. Have we learned nothing from history? How many more people have to die due to laziness and incompetence before people stop taking short cuts and cheats?
Humans have a terrible ability to get lack of vigilance over time because nothing had happened before. The loss of life in this case was huge.
Somehow I missed that this was so recent 😧
“It won’t happen to me! I’m smarter than all those fools!”
Right? I had to rewind twice to make sure I heard the date correctly because I was shocked to hear the long list of fire safety violations being outlined. I was like "wait... this happened in 2019"? Either way, it's heartbreaking to hear so many lives were lost in tragedies like this due to neglegence, no matter when they happened.
Become a regulator
I live in the region this happened. Was definitely a big story here but you added a number of things I didn't know, which I appreciate. This goes to show why there are safety regulations. It doesn't matter if nothing went wrong for 30 years while ignoring them, it only takes one incident to cause a disaster.
in those thirty years, many advances were made in battery chargers and upscale video/camera batteries and you have to keep up to date. No excuses. All that upscale equipment means HEAT generated by all those rechargeable batteries. You can't just ad hoc: you would need to have a Sea-Can on the deck ventilated and not exposed to where people are SLEEPING, for God's sake.
Interesting the why once the captain bailed his crew went to assist and reboarded an obviously doomed vessel. The logs show more after hours crew activity than broadcasted locally. Interesting too the company remains shuttered as the case crawls through the courts. All would agree no monetary judgment will restore entire families who happily took a risky sport trip only to be blindsided by disaster. To wrap, seems there were the usual combo of finally too many lapses, no available fireproof charge box upgrade and very interesting about the interruption during the safety drill with the fainting gal.
Peace to the survivors, RIP to the last dive trip on the Conception 💐
As a diver myself this story is so tragic. All fires are bad, but electrical fires with burning wires, batteries, etc., are especially toxic. The fumes can overwhelm you in a matter of seconds compared to "regular" smoke. I once had some wiring and a small capacitor that was related to my car stereo catch on fire while I was driving. Lucikly I was on a residential street at slow speed because the fumes and smoke made it nearly impossible to breathe within seconds. Taking a single breath caused an almost immediate involuntary reaction of severe coughing. I had 3 passengers in the car and 1 of them had to be treated at the ER for breathing difficulties even though from the start of the fire to all of us getting out of the car was only 10 - 20 secods at the most.
Looking at the deck plans... The lower bunk area is like a death trap...
Great documentary. This hits home as my fiance at the time was a Captain for Truth Aquatics in the mid 90's. I would sometimes work in the galley and spent a lot of time on these boats (mostly the Truth). Lots of great memories.
It is really sad that this happened and totally preventable.
Fascinating Horror delivers the most intriguing cases that really goes into depth. We all hope to see more content like this.
Is that a photo of the actual boat - the one at the start?
I’m trying to imagine almost 40 people living and sleeping onboard and...wow, it must have been so crowded.
Yes. I’ve taken a dive trip on a boat such as this (Spectre, which still operates in the Catalina Islands). Sleeping area basically a cabin filled floor to ceiling with bunks, like a warship.
I was on that boat in 2017, on what was likely the exact same trip (2 or 3 day liveabord to the Channel Islands). We had 12 or 13 divers -- far less than 33. And the bunk room felt cramped at that. The stairway up was a narrow circular stair, and getting people out in a hurry would be difficult, especially for 33 people. There was an emergency exit at the back of the room (I think), but that would have exited out right next to the charging area, where the fire likely started.
My family's crazy about diving, and yes- it gets crowded in those boats. Never heard of a small vessel like that holding >30 people, though. Normally it's around 15 people or less.
I’m so thankful for this channel, and your hard work. I watch you every time you upload, it can be so entertaining and you don’t dramatise these stories for clout. Keep up the awesome work!
Wtf? The night guard asleep? Unlinked fire alarms? How can they not do a fire drill with the passengers? Totally insane.
One of my first jobs was on a charter boat with overnight guests. I was too inexperienced to realize how wrong it was but we had no night guard, no interlinked smoke alarms, and no fire drills. I just wonder now how common this is.
@@alaskau9175 Probably very considering how alluringly "cost effective" it is to cut corners safety measures to save money...at least until someone gets killed and then you maybe get sued into oblivion like you should, though sadly that latter part is something larger companies tend to avoid.
I hope we can blame the lack of a fire drill coming from simple human error, considering that someone had fainted beforehand. When one emergency happens, you tend to stop and forget about the stuff you were busy doing.
@@aformerhiro7383 well as the escape hatch opened into the part of galley that was on fire. Even if a fire drill was done it wouldn't have helped much.
It's worse than that. Some of the crew had never done a fire drill or gotten any fire fighting training from the captain.
I had heard of this incident before, but this telling of it was excellent. After so many FH videos, I now find myself asking, whenever I get into a vessel or enclosed space, how would I get out if I had to? Fire is the worst.
If you are accepting of suggestions, I hope you would consider looking into the Doña Paz Tragedy. It's being called Asia's Titanic for good (very bad, terrible) reason. A factual, non-sensationalized documentary about this tragedy would be much appreciated!
An honest request well written. I'm sure it's on his radar if not lets keep replying to this until he sees it :D
Good idea.
He has an email posted in the description for suggestions. Try sending him an email about it. He was courteous enough to respond to mine. :)
Like Daffers said, I sent him a suggestion through email and he responded. He even eventually did the topic! It also helps to send some links with information when requesting
Dark History just did the Doña Paź last week, great video. 4000 died
i was completely shocked seeing the pictures of the vessel before and after it burned
what’s shocking about a ship/boat burning . it happens all the time , just usually these days not many die as could
Always great when Fascinating Horror drops a video I've really learned a lot from this channel
This was particularly horrifying.. 😳 I can't imagine the fear they must've felt, realizing there was no way out.. 😔
The stuff of nightmares, for sure
I hate burned-out hulks of anything - cars, houses, etc. The image of the burned boat is absolutely terrible, let alone thinking about what happened as they struggled in the fire. :(
They probably died of smoke inhalation in their sleep. Diving all day is exhausting and there wasn’t any evidence of a crush towards the exit during body recovery. Toxicology reports show that smoke inhalation was the main cause of death.
@@operkoi8954 Comforting isn't the right word, but knowing that makes it a little less haunting. Thanks for taking the time to share the info.
There was a cell call placed but cut out almost immediately ( female passenger I recall, LA Times) and perhaps she or another found with shoes on, same source. RIP indeed & sad to see the company initially back pedaling HARD to protect themselves. In shock is how the cap may have irresponsibly called on radio and jumped ship and his crew did follow as it seems by all accounts by then the Conception was totally engulfed😭. I hadn't heard the skiff part previously and thank our host for in-depth, verifiable and calmly delivered ( the entry chill music I like🤗) deep dives which at least for me are cautionary tales.
Another excellent video! They were regarded as one of the best operations in the area, so one must wonder how bad the others might have been. And again we see where we all need to pay special attention to where exits are and be ready to use them although that may not have done any good here. Likely the fire above them went unnoticed in the bunk area till it was too late. Earlier warning might have seen at least some able to get through the smoke and fire. Sleeping arrangements should always have an alternate direct path to the outside always kept clear and accessible. At least here these operations have learned from this tragedy and there is much closer attention and requirements for safety from the government now.
Lithium batteries are a wonderful power source till things go wrong, and few people understand that they require special attention in their use and charging. Each one can behave like the flaming hoverboard vids we've all seen. If anything unusual is noted with any lithium battery stop using it immediately. Best to charge in a fireproof box (impractical) but you can and should do your charging with supervision, as that's when things usually go wrong. And always keep charging batteries away from anything which may easily ignite. Any batteries not in a device need to be placed where they cannot short-circuit against anything metallic.
Good advice. Thank you!
Just off the top of my head, an ordinary cake pan can serve as a fire proof box without being too inordinately impractical... older, used ones can be found in garage sales, thrift stores, and flea markets, so they're not expensive... Depending on the device, it wouldn't take much more to protect from spreading hazard or heat... even the flashy sparks like shown in those hoverboard fails videos we enjoyed a couple years back...
AND those aren't the only things available for such improvised containment. It would depend on the battery and device in question, of course, and with space and weight being commodities onboard a vessel, obviously some limits need to be discussed "case by case"... BUT I've left freshly welded metal to cool in nothing more than a cake-pan about half full of sand with a welding blanket or old wool Army blanket over the top without trouble... just as an example.
Fireproofing shouldn't be all that inconvenient. It just takes a little bit of planning and someone unafraid to point it out and follow through. ;o)
@@gnarthdarkanen7464 Thank you. I'm taking notes.
@@scallopohare9431 Always welcome. Glad you got something out of it, and thank YOU for reading. ;o)
I find it interesting that, despite being able to improve their practices to prevent future disasters, the company voluntarily ceased operations. I could imagine the survivor guilt just being too great for the company, employees, and owners to continue, even if legally, financially, and by reputation the business could have survived. The survivor guilt must be especially bad for the crewmembers, they who were responsible for the safety of the passengers yet were the only ones to survive. Though they made some mistakes, I don't feel like this was a severe case of negligence or malice, more lack of understanding of the rules, or other rules being sufficiently complied with but - nobody realized - still not good enough in an emergency. I hope they can find some peace eventually.
they got sued too i think
Those rules are the captains job. That's why he is licensed. There is no excuse, and it was all and only negligence. When everyone else is confused or lazy the captain is trained, licensed and paid to be the one who knowns and enforces the rules.
I lost a family member in this fire, so this one hurts.
My condolences 💐
I am sorry for your loss. :(
RIP. 🙏🏼
So sorry for your loss.
So sorry for your loss .
Excellent. I have been looking for a new one. Not that I enjoy tragic events. In fact this keeps me in line. Shows me that things can indeed be far worse whenever I get down on life. These reminders are truly helpful.
It has helped me not to cut corners or try to do things the wrong way at work, because I don't want to get hurt! It's also helped me to be more observant of my surroundings, especially in a strange building. I always look for sprinklers/HALON and exits now.
I work on a lunch and dinner cruise ship (no overnights) and remember our Port Captain implementing a slew of changes after this happened. Interesting to finally hear an in-depth analysis of what happened rather than the highlights you get in a 30 second news blurb.
This whole thing is straight out of a horror movie, good lord. So many things about this just scream negligence.
I'm always taking mental notes for possible future scenarios when watching disaster and true crime videos...
When I was in H.S. I spent a lot of time on the Conception because a friend worked on the boat and we would always hang out there. It was a beautiful boat and such a sad tragic ending.
Christ I remember this happening- I read about it in the news while on an overnight whale-watching trip and slept badly that night.
Christ remembers too so why are you telling Him?
People I went to high school with died on this and I wasn’t aware of any aspects of the story until now. Thank you for covering it respectfully
Bruh we need that hazing pt 2. I'm so interested in that and think you could do a full hour on the subject
Being given the option to either burn to death or drown is the most nightmarish option to choose from
On the "bright" side (such as it is), most of the passengers likely died from smoke inhalation, quite possibly never waking up. That's how fire usually kills - carbon monoxide and other poisons generated by the combustion process will knock you out and kill you long before the flames reach you. Since the damage was so extensive, there is no way to know for sure, however, and very little in the way of remains was ever recovered. This was huge news at the time in California, where I spent most of my life until '20 when we left the state.
Just swim lol.
No it isn't I'll pick drowning any day.
@@chatteyj id take my chances trying to swim, but if its a hard "drown or burn" I have to ask 2 further questions: how cold is the water and how hot is the fire? When pushed to their extreme temperatures, both would be pretty quick and painless. I would rather jump into a blast furnace like a rat than drown in say a room temperature fish tank. Drowning is painful. VERY painful, but if it's cold enough, you'll lose feeling and consciousness before you can really register the lack of air. In Alaskan fishing, sailors who go overboard can expect death within or just over a minute in icey waters. I would rather jump into the northern pacific in winter than get burned at the stake.
@@MrJest2 God I hope you're right.
Lots of folks doing these types of videos but FH is the only one I recommend to others. Clear, concise, and best of all, no opinionating! Thanks!
Same here. He's respectful, as accurate as he can be, and refuses to sensationalize. I believe he's truly out to inform, not get "hits" or likes/subscribes. I respect him greatly for that, and I recommend him too.
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"Horror stories" is a good one, but he hasn't uploaded in quite some time.
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This is from the beforetimes, so I’d forgotten this one. But I remember it being a big deal because my bestie’s boyfriend turned down joining this trip and as the dive community in NorCal is only so big, loosing 30+ people was insane. They all knew each other. It was a hard hit. Wild what 2020 made me forget.
Once again, Fascinating Horror brings to my attention a tragedy that would have never been heard of and forgotten to time. A tragedy that could have easily been prevented, yet happened so quickly due to shortcomings in basic safety protocols
I live nearby and have been on several of the boats including the conception. Have been to the small memorial that families have left nearby as well. So sad about everything that went down. RIP
Thank you for covering this story! I really appreciate you going into full detail on its history and the events that followed the incident. This one hits closest to home as I was a passenger on the sister ship, the Vision, for a school trip just 4 years prior to the incident. Our school gave many of our graduating classes the opportunity to go on a three day excursion aboard to visit the islands off the coast and learn about marine biology, with the girls onboard the Vision and the boys onboard the Conception. It was my first time on a ship and I remember having a lot of anxiety over something happening along the way. Since the Vision and Conception were similar in structure, I can tell you that the ship did feel a bit cramped, especially in the sleeping area. The entire ship felt outdated, and with how little safety precautions they turned out to have, that just further emphasizes my point. Despite this, I have some very fond memories from that trip. But looking back on those memories every now and then will leave me haunted by the Conception disaster. It's just horrific to imagine waking up to trouble and being trapped in such a tight space with nowhere to go. I hope those aboard the ship that day are resting well now.
Good video, I missed the story when it happened.
I was stunned to see the names of two people I'd met a few times on the memorial. One was a supporter of a nonprofit I used to work for, the other was her husband. Both techies, both were very nice people, even to a low-level minion like me.
Fascinating Horror always makes me think of all the insane shit that can happen in 24 hours.
You do so well recounting these disasters. If this was MrBallen, he would have 25 dramatic personal accounts of feelings actions and conversations of people who were trapped and never had any way to tell anyone their story. So thank you.
I live in Ventura, California and I remember when this happened. I usually just run the coast as I only have a bay-liner. But the truth of it is help always seems so far away. Fire extinguishers and life jackets are SO IMPORTANT! I just wish that boaters would put safety before fun.
Definition of a death trap. So many people in a confined space with only one exit. Hopefully they passed out from smoke inhalation before the flames came. Crazy that the conditions that allow the like are still tolerated in this century.
??? Those are the conditions of a boat or ship. They are dangerous places by nature.
Time to get FH a million subs for Christmas. He deserves it.
I saw it when it happened, you could see it from the beach. I smelled something terrible burning, and you could see a small fire way out there and eventually the coast guard
That's chilling :/
We learn lessons in such tragic ways. Thanks Kristain for another great , as usual, video.
I got chills when it was stated that the "vision" vessel had an electrical fire previously.
The thing that struck me (apart from the lack of a viable fire exit) was the lack of a night watchman. Even ships with no one aboard, will have a shipkeeper, essentially a security guard, to check on things like this. I thought it would have been second nature to the captain and crew to have someone awake at night.
This day broke my heart, I couldn’t believe this tragedy and thought to myself, this could have been me and my wife and any live aboard dive boat in the world.
In 2017 we took a trip to Belize and stayed on the Sundancer which is now the Belize Aggressor IV. 2019 this accident happens and 2020 we’re all stuck at home. 2021, we went back to Belize and stayed on the same ship but the new protocols because of the Conception disaster were amazing and we were so happy they implemented them.
Since this accident I pay tribute to all who lost their lives because the dive community is family to me.
They are on their forever dive and I pray for them all
God speed
I took a dive trip on Conception in the late 80s and we probably anchored in the same location off Santa Cruz island.
I recall feeling claustrophobic down below in my bunk, and I'm not sure I knew where the little escape hatch was even located.
I'm surprised none of the previous passengers complained about the safety issues? Having all emergency exits going to an enclosed room above seems like a safety hazard to me? One look at the map of the boat should have told people so.
It's surprising how many people don't even think of things like emergency exits til too late...
Actually looked like the escape-hatch into the galley could be covered by a roll-out cabinet/work-bench when pulled out!
Have to confess: when you stated that one passenger fainted when the crew member was talking about the boat's fire safety features, I assumed the two were linked, and figured that the passenger was really freaked out by the briefing for some reason!
Made me wonder if that person had a psychic intuition of what was to come....
@@bkgdnoize111 That's exactly what I was thinking.
Having been on dive boats and liveaboards before, this is terrifying. My dad actually had been on this boat many years ago (in the 90s) and that creeped him out even more. Several of us divers were talking about it early on, and one said I'll bet it has to do with a charging station. I'm from California so we heard all about this from local and State news. Every time we saw a new broadcast, there was a new domino dropped. There were so many issues here that compounded and dominoed that lead to catastrophe, it's just so sad.
Thanks MrHorror at 21:16, bedtime is fast approaching here in Oz. Look forward to the upload. Cheers
It's only 6:35 pm on the west coast 👍
@@NannupTiger hi to WA...Have travelled through and around there. Some amazing places, and interesting adventures.💙
11: 36 a.m. in the UK. Good morning, and Thanks! ...😨
Also in Australia; always end up watching their new videos when I'm in bed, about to go to sleep :S
This story made me think of the table rock lake duck boat accident back in July of 2018. Another horrible tragedy especially for that one woman survivor.
I just watched Brick Immortar's new video on that incident, so I was also thinking about it. To be trapped on a boat, either by water or fire, is a truly fearful way to go.
Before seeing the intro: "What's so conceptual about a boat?"
After seeing the intro: "Well then."
When this hit the news a couple years ago, I was floored. The first boat dive I ever took was aboard the Conception. It was very well run and I remember running into the "night watchman". I've always felt an attachment to this organization because over several trips with them, safety was always paramount. It bothered me, when they all cut and ran. But, California is covered in lawyers and I don't see how they could survive that.
Can’t imagine what was going in the deck below. What a scary horrible death 😞
I dove on the boat for two trips. They were such a good diver company and I defended them for awhile. After hearing about there noncompliance with serval safety standard I don’t defend them anymore. That bunk room would have been almost impossible to evacuate from. So scary
I lost a friend on this boat... Neal Baltz... (We met diving in Texas). Total shame and waste of life that could have been easily prevented had someone been properly standing watch. RIP to all who died, and thoughts and prayers to the loved ones and friends..
I watched this develop when it happened. I am just a lowly rec. diver here in Florida but I have been on boats like this. I remember when the news broke I was deeply saddened by the events and could not help but think of my 2 boys being stuck in that situation and how sad all that would have been for the families of those killed. Rest in peace to all that didnt make it out.
One lesson from this horrible incident is how important it is for people managing safety to look past the most obvious risks. Watching the NTSB hearing, it was clear that this didn't come out of the crew or management being indifferent and cheap like in a lot of other preventable disasters. The people in charge of the Conception appeared to genuinely believe they were running a safe operation and proactively did things to try to maintain that. The problem was that they framed "safety" almost entirely around managing the risks of diving.
Diving instructors and professionals make decisions every day to avoid risks that they know a lot about, and are often guiding less experienced clients to do so. Their daily experience reinforces the safety procedures that are important. They don't confront fire safety routinely in the same way. They probably don't know anyone hurt in a fire on a dive boat. They haven't heard all sorts of scary stories about dive boat fires from experienced people. If they think about fire as a real possibility, they probably picture something they could put out with a fire extinguisher that passengers would have lots of time to get out of the way of.
It doesn't seem like they ever imagined a fire trapping their passengers below deck. And the oversight wasn't there to make sure they ever thought about it.
On November 10th, 2000, nobody had ever been seriously hurt by a fire on a funicular train. The next day 155 people died in Kaprun. Afterwards, it was horribly obvious that the risk of fire wasn't well managed and that a fire happening at the wrong time would be easily able to cut off any chance of escape for the passengers. We need to take the risks around us seriously even when "nothing like that ever happened here before."
Just reading the title I thought this was going to be about the accidents and mishaps of the earliest submarines. Or the story of two divers starting a family, but that seemed like an unlikely subject for this channel :P
I thought the same baby conceived on a dive boat turns out the be the devil or something
Anyone else loves his voice?
I hope we never see a photo of the man as it might spoil things.
I remember hearing about this on the radio, I live right next to where it happened. There was (and still is) a memorial at the end of the breakwater at the harbor.
This was my suggestion! As a local, the lack of safety features and actions of the crew were so absolutely disgraceful that I thought it would be a perfect "what not to do."
Captain should be in jail for a long ass time
Wow, this is the first I've heard of this disaster! If you're interested in covering another US pleasure cruise disaster, you should look into the Table Rock Lake duck boat accident in 2018, where a nasty storm sank a boat and killed 17 (including 9 from a single family).
Brick Immortar just posted a video about this on Nov. 20. It's titled, "Normalized Negligence." I haven't watched it yet, but that title could apply to the Conception and to so many other incidents over the years.
My friend was supposed to be a scuba instructor on that boat on that trip but canceled last minute because she had an ear infection. what’s worse is another of her friends is the one who replaced her on the trip because she canceled. Her friends and coworkers died being burned alive. Haunts her to this day.
A lifesaving ear infection. I cannot imagine what she is going thru but hope she has plenty of support and on her way to healing. With that sort of job, it is wise not to work when not in the best of health. Possible extreme dangers that might only be survivable if you're at your very best.
Dang. So many conflicting emotions. Gratefulness to be alive, the realization it could've been her, the guilt that someone else took her place and that person's family has to go thru pain, I hope your friend finds a way to heal. I know words mean little in a situation like this since I'm a stranger but still.
The only thing I can relate is that she's not a murderer. As much as the mind may go there, she didn't know. As much as she may feel guilty, she didn't intend for it to happen. It takes a good amount of time to face that truth. Sorry just thought about my own experience and hopefully could say a few things.
I’m from california and I had no idea this happened thank you for covering recent cases as well as old ones that explain our safety guidelines
As well as having a crewman on watch at night to ensure the boat is safe, usually, a two-hour watch till he wakes up a relief crewman, their other main duty is to maintain an anchor watch as well. This is to ensure the vessel doesn't drag the anchor and allow the vessel to drift towards land, and possibly run aground on rocks or the beach. The anchor may drag if a change in wind direction and speed during the night pushes the boat towards a Lee shore, also known as a Leeward shore.
“No fire evacuation training was completed.”
BINGO!
its funny how the ship that saved them after they escaped is named...Great Escape
It was called the Grape Escape.. as in, they enjoy a drop of good wine
I am a scuba diver from the area and used this company many times. I was wondering if it would be covered here. I learned so many details
The captain, Jerry Boylan, will be going to trial next month (Dec 22). He's 68, and the ridiculous failure to mention the word 'fire' in his mayday call perhaps indicates a mentally-impaired senior. I wonder if his defence will try to use that....
If the captain believes he is mentally incompetent due to age then it would have been his duty to relinquish his post. That’s not a valid defense - it’s actually an admission of guilt. negligent behavior and poor decision making
@@drdrew3 Well yes I agree- but US defence attorneys will try anything. Actually, his age will play directly against any 'I didn't know the exact 'Roving Night-Watchman' rules'. He had been sailing for decades, and will have known them very well- it was his choice to let them slide.
The captain’s best defense is to contend that all those code and protocol violations were the responsibility of his employer. The boat was supplied by then. The equipment was maintained by them. The crew was hired by them. Pretty good chance the judge himself is also a 68 year old guy who would laugh at the suggestion that adults are old and senile at that age. He was a crappy captain but I doubt criminal charges will stick - the employer has deep pockets with insurance to cover a big payout in civil proceedings - they bear the brunt of the responsibility for bad training and improper equipment
He was probably not thinking straight because of the smoke inhalation
@@alfiepeters5550 He certainly got all the precise details of boat name, location and people on board 100% correct. Just the word 'fire' got missed.
This is the best channel of it's genre! We need to get you 1 million subs!!💙
Santa Barbara is my hometown. I am quite astonished to have only just heard of this disaster till now. I am pretty certain I traveled on one of those boats on a trip to the Channel Islands in my elementary school days.
Thank you for leaving out the parts about the screaming victims and removal of corpses. Respect for the dead, especially in this case, means a lot.
The interpretation of Roving Patrol as "sleep with the passengers" is one of the most astonishingly STUPID cases of willful negligence I've ever heard of.
I remember when this happened. I still feel that the crew abandoned the passengers. The crew were incompetent and they left without really trying.
I felt so bad laughing during this tragic story.....But "Grape Escape" is a hilarious name for a boat.
Wino's 😄
I remember when this happened...I live in So Cal and this was all over the news for awhile...when I think of all the boats I've stayed on over the years, fire was absolutely the last thing I would have worried about
Speaking of fire...several years ago there were a lot of people renting space in an Oakland warehouse...one night a live band played...the fire that followed was horrific & deadly, and months of news coverage exposed the lack of oversight by the city, and the desperation of artists in the Bay Area trying to find affordable housing...maybe you could take a look at that incident? I haven't seen it covered by anyone else
So…a similar incident happened on a sister ship the previous year, and they didn’t learn from that mistake? The upgrades they made should have been the standard (especially the emergency exits, smoke alarms, and fireproof cabinets).
I have not herd of this one before
I don't think I have either
PLEASE 🥺 make a video on the buffalo creek dam disaster in West Virginia back in the 70s. There isn't a single good video on TH-cam that explains what happened! I'd love to see my home state and town represented on this channel!!!