REMEMBERING AN ALASKAN CRUISE SHIP FIRE, JULY 27, 1996 What
are the odds of being aboard a cruise ship that
catches fire? Strangely enough, the Coffeys were
present during the We
were in the midst of a seven-day cruise from By
Ron Coffey We're
thankful to be alive. Some of the people aboard the
SS Universe Explorer didn't make it. What
started out as the vacation of a lifetime turned
tragic in the early morning hours of We
were awakened at about Colin
and Wade, then aged 16 and 15, were in the room with
us. We tried to get dressed quickly. I found some
jeans and a long-sleeved shirt. As we left the room
I grabbed shoes and socks. The
hallway was quite smoky, and I realized this was no
minor fire. Fortunately we were near the stairway.
We climbed to the Boat Deck and sought out lifeboat
station #4. The
730 passengers moved in an orderly fashion to their
stations. Just a few days before we had practiced
this maneuver while the ship was docked at Now
we were in the midst of a real fife. As we stood
there, still somewhat dazed, the roll call began.
When some of the cabin numbers were called there was
no response. The voices of the cruise ship staffers
grew edgy, and the numbers were repeated. Crew
members put towels over their mouths and went into
the smoky halls to check on the cabins. Despite the
commotion and the ship's fire alarm, we heard that
one couple had slept through everything. Others
became disoriented and had trouble finding the
correct lifeboat station. Smoke
poured through an opening in the front of the ship.
The smell was like that of an electrical fire, and
when the fumes blew in our direction it was hard to
breathe. That was somewhat frightening because I
knew the smoke could be dangerous. Still, we were in
sight of land and close to the lifeboats, and that
provided a certain level of comfort. At
about that time an elderly man behind us passed out.
We grabbed him so he wouldn't fall to the deck. A
woman with nursing skills questioned his wife.
Apparently he had been taking sea-sickness
medication and just needed to lie down for awhile. A
blanket and a "pillow" of life jackets
were provided, and he rested comfortably. Occasionally
crew members would run past us with oxygen tanks and
other firefighting paraphernalia. We realized
that it really is important to provide a path for
the crew. Gradually
the smoke subsided as we continued to wait and
wonder. We watched the sun rise and saw the
silhouettes
of the mountains return to color. It was like
watching the changing shadows at the We
felt a great sense of relief when we saw another
cruise ship, the Sky Princess, standing by to
assist if necessary. Soon the U.S. Coast Guard
arrived
and there were cheers from the passengers. Some
passengers were dressed in bedclothes, or they had
grabbed shorts and short-sleeved shirts insufficient
to endure the cool morning air. The crew distributed
blankets to anyone needing them, and announced that
the ship would be turning so that we might have some
sunlight to warm us. There was nowhere to sit unless
one had a medical problem, and after a few hours
we became quite tired. Those needing a bathroom had
to utilize a bucket as crew members held up a
blanket for privacy. We
passed the time by speculating about the future of
the cruise and making jokes about nearly
everything. I tried to convince myself that this was
merely an inconvenience, that everyone was safe.
The ship's staff did not give out much information,
although an occasional announcement came over the
public address system urging us to remain calm and
to keep the pathways open for the crew. We
had made some new friends on the cruise, including
two brothers from Tamie,
one of the wives, came up to me and whispered that
at least three people had died in the fire. I didn't
know how she picked up this information, but I
realized it was possible. She didn't want to create
a panic, but felt the need to share information with
someone. Tamie
and her husband, Steve, had been trapped briefly
inside the ship when some steel doors were closed to
prevent the fire from spreading. I can imagine how
Steve and Tamie felt when they came to the locked
doors. They
were able to call Steve's brother, who got in touch
with the crew, and the doors were opened so they
could escape to the outer deck. A
lady from the cruise staff was in charge of our
lifeboat station. I watched as she whispered to one
of the Panamanian crew members. When his eyes began
to fill with tears, I knew something tragic had
happened. The
crew came around with bread, milk and water for
anyone who wanted it. This seemed a strange meal for
passengers accustomed to gluttony at sea, but it
tasted remarkably good. After
three hours of standing on deck we were told that we
could go inside to a public lounge area and sit
down. This was a great relief. I took a brief nap,
and we even got to revisit our rooms briefly. This
time we had the presence of mind to take anything
that was really important to us, like passports,
travelers cheques, camera and film – in case we
never saw our luggage again. A
short time later we were ordered back to the
lifeboat stations. We learned later that the fire
had restarted, and firemen had to battle for an
hour to put it out again. The
ship was operational, and after a while we had
headed south towards Steve
pored over a map of We
set foot on land at 2:15 p.m.
and were greeted by reporters and curious
onlookers. A bus took us to the convention center in Inside,
I couldn't believe the reception that awaited us.
Volunteers from the Back
in the convention center, a team of Juneau
officials and
cruise ship staffers prepared for our transportation
to While
we waited, the We
left Juneau
after midnight
and flew to We
spent all the next day in the hotel. Normally I
would have wanted to explore We
caught a Many
people who heard about the fire soon inquired about
our safety, and we appreciated the concern and
prayers of our family and friends. We
still believe that cruising is a safe and wonderful
way to travel. All travel contains an element of
risk, but airline and cruise ship disasters get
headlines in the press because they are so rare. In
my opinion, driving a car presents a greater risk. The
crew of the Universe Explorer was
courageous in looking after the safety of
passengers, and our thoughts and prayers went out to
the victims and their families. Ten years after, we
are thankful to be alive, and will always remember
the beauty of
Alaska, the heroic efforts
of crew members of the SS
Universe Explorer and the kindness of the Good
Samaritans of Juneau.
Postscript: The National Transportation Safety Board investigated the fire and produced an 84-page report that can be viewed at the following link: http://www.ntsb.gov/Publictn/1998/MAR9802.pdf
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