QM2 fire

[BlueRiband]

And now that the incident has been well publicized, we'll next read of somebody suing Cunard for the emotional trauma supposedly caused by the incident.

[D&N]

I suspect it's a rigidly enforced protocol.

If the extent of the fire is not yet clear it is much safer to notify passengers and crew in case of the potential need to issue a muster station instruction. It may then save valuable minutes.

And if the all clear is then issued most people will understand the absolute need for safety.

 

[S1971]

1 hour ago, exlondoner said:

No I doubt it. We were once woken in the middle of the night to be told some alarms had gone off in the engine room and they were checking. And then again, as we were drifting back to sleep, to be told nothing had been found.

 

Judging by what @ChrisMV said previously, a crew announcement was made a "few minutes" earlier on the corridor speakers, I'd of thought a few minutes would've been enough to establish whether serious or not.

 

The captain then announces the fire is out over the cabin speaker, why the need to do that at 6am if the fire was out, it doesn't make sense, unless of course it was initially something more serious, in which case the cabin announcement should've been done immediately and not after the event.

 

We'll probably never know.

Edited April 9 by S1971

[sogne]

5 minutes ago, S1971 said:

 

Judging by what @ChrisMV said previously, a crew announcement was made a "few minutes" earlier on the corridor speakers, I'd of thought a few minutes would've been enough to establish whether serious or not.

 

The captain then announces the fire is out over the cabin speaker, why the need to do that at 6am if the fire was out, it doesn't make sense, unless of course it was initially something more serious, in which case the cabin announcement should've been done immediately and not after the event.

 

We'll probably never know.

A standard operational procedure 

[S1971]

Just now, sogne said:

A standard operational procedure 

 

What by announcing the fire is out after the event??

 

Seems a very strange operational procedure.

[sogne]

5 minutes ago, S1971 said:

 

What by announcing the fire is out after the event??

 

Seems a very strange operational procedure.

Because having been announced reassurance to all board is required that problem.is resolved.

[exlondoner]

9 minutes ago, S1971 said:

 

What by announcing the fire is out after the event??

 

Seems a very strange operational procedure.

There may be a few worried people sitting waiting with their outdoor shoes and coat on. Best to send them back to bed.

[S1971]

13 minutes ago, sogne said:

Because having been announced reassurance to all board is required that problem.is resolved.

 

It wasn't a general announcement, the corridor announcement minutes earlier was for the crew and probably only heard by a handful of people, even then I doubt the call was fire it would've been code A,B,C or similar, most people of which wouldn't have had a clue.

 

 

Edited April 9 by S1971
Added a line.

[exlondoner]

56 minutes ago, S1971 said:

 

It wasn't a general announcement, the corridor announcement minutes earlier was for the crew and probably only heard by a handful of people, even then I doubt the call was fire it would've been code A,B,C or similar, most people of which wouldn't have had a clue.

 

 

I thought there were three announcements: one to the crew, one for the passengers shortly afterwards, and one for the passengers telling them it was OK after that.

[D&N]

57 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

There may be a few worried people sitting waiting with their outdoor shoes and coat on. Best to send them back to bed.

 

There may also be a few safety aware people sitting waiting with their outdoor shoes and coat on. 

 

I worked most of my life in an industry where failing to follow procedures and ignoring notifications and instructions results in fatalities. Whether anyone is asleep at 6 am should be the last thing the crew consider.

 

[exlondoner]

1 minute ago, D&N said:

 

There may also be a few safety aware people sitting waiting with their outdoor shoes and coat on. 

 

I worked most of my life in an industry where failing to follow procedures and ignoring notifications and instructions results in fatalities. Whether anyone is asleep at 6 am should be the last thing the crew consider.

 

Well, I didn’t feel the need to dress, unless we were told. I did get our passports out of the safe though. Not exactly safety, but, if the worst came to the worst, it would have saved complications.

[S1971]

9 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

I thought there were three announcements: one to the crew, one for the passengers shortly afterwards, and one for the passengers telling them it was OK after that.

"Just to clarify — the announcement from the captain at 6:00am was the type of announcement where it is broadcast from the speaker on the ceiling inside your cabin (which woke everyone up).  I do not know my technical terminology for that type of communication.

 

 A few minutes before that announcement, however, there was an announcement calling the crew and that announcement was not broadcast into guest cabins, but you could hear it faintly coming from the hallway speakers"

 

I only noted two announcements from the original quote above.

 

[rmsEtruria]

1 hour ago, S1971 said:

 

Judging by what @ChrisMV said previously, a crew announcement was made a "few minutes" earlier on the corridor speakers, I'd of thought a few minutes would've been enough to establish whether serious or not.

 

The captain then announces the fire is out over the cabin speaker, why the need to do that at 6am if the fire was out, it doesn't make sense, unless of course it was initially something more serious, in which case the cabin announcement should've been done immediately and not after the event.

 

We'll probably never know.

And so it begins—the next conspiracy theory . . . .

[sogne]

1 hour ago, S1971 said:

 

What by announcing the fire is out after the event??

 

Seems a very strange operational procedure.

Having been at sea professionally in large vessels that is standard. Guess the Sun headline if no announcement made and a passenger tells tabloid fire on xxxand the captain didn't tell us.

 

[BigMac1953]

The crew fire alert on Cunard ships was always "assessment party to deck...."

 

However, more recently, at 8:15 am one morning whilst at breakfast, the announcement was "fire in electrical cabinet, stairway B deck 2" and it was real!

 

It was quite surprising to actually hear "fire" as it used to be recommended that it should not be mentioned to avoid panic.

[majortom10]

Have had issues of fire or suspected fire whilst onboard cruises a few times and a the word 'fire' was always used. Having spent all my working life as a firefighter giving full information as soon as possible creates less panic than giving nothing or fabricated announcements.

[majortom10]

We had one occasion of a fire on a cruise when the announcement was made into the cabins by during the night. The fire or cause of the fire alarm was quickly sorted and a relevant announcement was made. Next morning at breakfast it was a hot topic of discussion and many said they got up got dressed and put their lifejackets on.

[BigMac1953]

1 hour ago, majortom10 said:

Have had issues of fire or suspected fire whilst onboard cruises a few times and a the word 'fire' was always used. Having spent all my working life as a firefighter giving full information as soon as possible creates less panic than giving nothing or fabricated announcements.

 

Strange.

 

I've always been in senior business management. Our H & S people used to tell us never to use that word over the PA system. We had a notice permanently displayed at the microphone which was to be read over the PA in an emergency, viz: "Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please. It is necessary to evacuate the premises for a short period. Please leave by the nearest exit."

 

The 1929 Glen cinema disaster in Paisley, near Glasgow, was always quoted. 71 children died when somebody shouted "FIRE" and there was a stampede to the exits, which were locked. There was no fire.

[ChrisMV]

18 hours ago, S1971 said:

I only noted two announcements from the original quote above.

 

This is correct, only two announcements.  The corridor announcement for the crew and then, a few minutes later, the cabin announcement telling passengers the issue was resolved.

[S1971]

2 hours ago, ChrisMV said:

This is correct, only two announcements.  The corridor announcement for the crew and then, a few minutes later, the cabin announcement telling passengers the issue was resolved.

 

So there was obviously a fire onboard and the captain never announced it until after it was extinguished.

 

Thank you that clarifies the point I was making, no official fire alarm so obviously not the protocol of the ship and the captain must of had discretion.

 

The fire was out, therefore no need to alarm and wake up all onboard at 6am, could've made an announcement later.

 

That would've put pay to the alleged "clickbaiters" and news articles.

Edited April 10 by S1971

[ChrisMV]

8 minutes ago, S1971 said:

 

So there was obviously a fire onboard and the captain never announced it until after it was extinguished.

Correct.  It was a water pump if I remember correctly, the captain in his 6am announcement specifically said what it was (I just do not recall 100%, but I think he said water pump).

[ChrisMV]

11 minutes ago, S1971 said:

The fire was out, therefore no need to alarm and wake up all onboard at 6am, could've made an announcement later.

 

It would have been nice for everyone not to have been woken up at 6am I guess, but it sounds like from what others are saying they were just following protocol.  

[ChrisMV]

3 minutes ago, ChrisMV said:

Correct.  It was a water pump if I remember correctly, the captain in his 6am announcement specifically said what it was (I just do not recall 100%, but I think he said water pump).

Does @tjunmin happen to remember from that 6am cabin announcement by the captain?  I am pretty sure I heard water pump fire, but memories are only so good that early in the morning.

[majortom10]

4 hours ago, BigMac1953 said:

 

Strange.

 

I've always been in senior business management. Our H & S people used to tell us never to use that word over the PA system. We had a notice permanently displayed at the microphone which was to be read over the PA in an emergency, viz: "Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please. It is necessary to evacuate the premises for a short period. Please leave by the nearest exit."

 

The 1929 Glen cinema disaster in Paisley, near Glasgow, was always quoted. 71 children died when somebody shouted "FIRE" and there was a stampede to the exits, which were locked. There was no fire.

Well we were on Arcadia one night in the buffet at about 12-30 am and there was an announcement to alert staff and it was all over the ship. It stated there was a fire on deck 2. We watched staff run to a door and all their fire kit and breathing apparatus was inside. We watched them get dressed then a short time later the Captain made a further announcement what caused the alarm and told all staff to "stand down".

[Megabear2]

1 minute ago, majortom10 said:

Well we were on Arcadia one night in the buffet at about 12-30 am and there was an announcement to alert staff and it was all over the ship. It stated there was a fire on deck 2. We watched staff run to a door and all their fire kit and breathing apparatus was inside. We watched them get dressed then a short time later the Captain made a further announcement what caused the alarm and told all staff to "stand down".

We had two fires in one night on one Azura voyage, within 90 minutes of each other.  One was in staff quarters - a waste bin apparently - and the other was a curtain in the theatre catching fire from an indoor pyrotechnic.  Both were announced ship wide including through cabins and crew were individually stood down after each incident.