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Scuba Forum > Smithsgold
 
#20308
 Sweeping safety rules proposed in wake of deadly dive boat fire
Smithsgold - 12/16/2019 1:46 PM
Category: General
Replies: 4
recordnet.com/news/20191214/sweeping-safety-rule...L4kBOUpkVkYkHzemIvDM

LOS ANGELES — California Sen. Dianne Feinstein last week proposed sweeping boat safety legislation in the wake of the Conception fire that killed 34 people, including five members of a Stockton family.

The legislation would require small passenger vessels to have at least two escape exits, strengthen standards for fire alarm systems and create mandatory safety rules for handling and storage of phones, cameras and other electronic devices with lithium-ion batteries.

The proposal comes amid growing scrutiny over how the Coast Guard has regulated passenger vessels. A Los Angeles Times review of Coast Guard records over 20 years found the agency repeatedly rejected recommendations by the National Transportation Safety Board for tougher safety rules.
#76
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Krabberkris - 12/16/2019 6:43 PM
Perhaps we will never know the exact cause of the fire , but most would agree that piling devices on chargers with lithium ion and cadmium batteries is never a good thing. The New York Post had an article about that after interviewing a crew member.
#581
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NickBee - 12/16/2019 10:44 PM
Truth Aquatics is resuming their charters. As a result of the terrible accident, Truth Aquatics is installing a fire suppression system on the boats, coating all surfaces with fire retardant, improving the emergency escape hatch, and requiring that battery charging only be done when it can be supervised (that is, only until everyone goes to bed and thus not at night).
#20448
LatitudeAdjustment - 12/17/2019 7:22 AM
From Krabberkris: but most would agree that piling devices on chargers with lithium ion and cadmium batteries is never a good thing.

I was on one California Liveaboard, not a Truth that was setup for spearos not photogs but it was the only boat available on short notice.

It had one outlet in the galley that was used for toast, a skillet so it should handle a few chargers but we had 18 photogs on board and power strips were being daisy chained and it made us all nervous :(
#12178
Eric_R - 12/17/2019 8:05 AM
From LatitudeAdjustment: power strips were being daisy chained and it made us all nervous

If the circuit and power strips are properly fused it should be fine.