California Boat Fire: What Happened?

A 75-foot dive boat called the Conception burned down off the coast of Southern California in the Channel Islands National Park. The boat was carrying 33 passengers and 6 crew members when it went up in flames at about 3:30 a.m. on Monday, September 2, 2019. The fire broke out when the boat was anchored about 20 yards off the coast of Santa Cruz Island.

The Conception dive boat was carrying 39 people when it caught fire

The Conception was a 75-foot dive boat that burned down off the coast of Southern California in the Channel Islands National Park. The boat was carrying 39 people—33 passengers and 6 crew members—when it caught fire. Five crew members were rescued, and 15 bodies have been found. The remaining people on board are either missing or dead.

The Conception was owned by Truth Aquatics, a Santa Barbara-based company founded in 1974. The boat was regularly used for diving trips around the Channel Islands and was in in "full compliance" with regulatory requirements, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. The Coast Guard inspects vessels like the Conception annually.

The fire broke out around 3 a.m. on Monday in Platt's Harbor off Santa Cruz Island. The five crew members who escaped took refuge on a nearby boat called The Grape Escape. Two of them had minor injuries.

The search for survivors has been suspended, and the operation has now become a recovery mission. Crews searched a 160-mile area for close to 24 hours but found no further signs of distress. The boat sank about 20 yards from the shore four hours after the fire started and has now been brought to the surface by a salvage team.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Five crew members were rescued, but 34 people are thought to have died

The 75-foot dive boat Conception caught fire and sank off the coast of Southern California in the Channel Islands National Park. 39 people were on board, 33 passengers and 6 crew members. Five crew members were rescued, but 34 people are thought to have died.

The five crew members who were rescued were awake and on the upper deck when the fire broke out. They jumped into the water and were picked up by a nearby recreational vessel called The Grape Escape. Two of the rescued crew members had leg injuries.

The 34 people who are thought to have died were below deck when the fire broke out. It is unclear if they woke up and tried to escape the flames, or perished in their sleep.

The search for survivors was called off on Tuesday morning, and the operation became a recovery mission. The bodies of 20 victims—11 women and 9 men—were recovered, and divers saw an additional 4 to 6 bodies in the wreckage, but they could not be retrieved due to unsafe conditions.

The boat was on a three-day diving trip and was due back the day of the fire

The boat that burned in California was the Conception, a 75-foot dive boat that was on a three-day diving trip and was due back the day of the fire. The boat was owned by Truth Aquatics, a Santa Barbara-based company founded in 1974, and had left on Saturday morning for a diving excursion around the Channel Islands, off the Southern California coast.

The Conception was regularly used for such trips and was owned by Truth Aquatics, a major name in the world of charters. The company's owner, Glen Fritzler, is a respected figure in the diving world and had built the Conception in 1981. It was a major part of his life and business, and he told California Diving News that his firm's boats have hosted over 450,000 divers and over 1 million dives.

The boat was in "full compliance" with regulatory requirements, according to U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Monica Rochester, and had passed its most recent inspection in February 2019 with no deficiencies found. The Coast Guard inspects such vessels annually.

The Conception was on the final day of its three-day trip and was due back on Monday evening when the fire broke out around 3 a.m. near Santa Cruz Island. The fire originated in Platt's Harbor and quickly engulfed the boat.

The five crew members who were awake at the time of the fire were able to escape by jumping into the water, and they were rescued by a nearby recreational vessel called The Grape Escape. Unfortunately, 34 passengers who were sleeping below deck are presumed to have perished in the blaze.

The fire broke out around 3 am and the boat sank about 20 yards from the shore four hours later

The 75-foot dive boat, Conception, was anchored about 20 yards from the shore of Santa Cruz Island, California, when a fire broke out around 3 am. The vessel was in a remote location with limited firefighting capabilities, and the fire spread rapidly. The boat burned down to the waterline and sank about four hours after the fire started, coming to rest in about 60 feet of water.

The Coast Guard, Santa Barbara Fire Department, Ventura County Fire Department, and Vessel Assist responded to a mayday call placed around 3 am. The vessel was engulfed in flames by the time firefighters arrived approximately 15 minutes later. Each time the fire was extinguished, it flared back up, possibly due to the amount of fuel on board.

The Conception was on the final day of a three-day excursion to Channel Islands National Park when the fire broke out. The boat was carrying 33 passengers and six crew members, and the majority of the passengers were sleeping below deck when the fire started. Five crew members who were awake on the third deck jumped off and were rescued by a nearby recreational vessel, The Grape Escape. One crew member remains unaccounted for.

The search for survivors was called off on Tuesday morning, and the operation transitioned to a recovery mission. Twenty bodies have been recovered, and 14 people remain missing and are presumed dead.

The cause of the fire is still unknown

On September 2, 2019, a fire broke out on a boat called the Conception off the coast of Southern California, resulting in a tragic loss of life. The cause of the fire is still unknown.

The Conception was a 75-foot commercial diving boat that had been chartered for a three-day excursion to San Miguel Island, part of the Channel Islands National Park. The boat was owned by Truth Aquatics, a well-respected company in the diving world, and had been regularly used for diving trips around the Channel Islands. It was carrying 33 passengers and 6 crew members when the fire broke out around 3:30 a.m. on Monday.

Five crew members who were awake and on the third deck when the fire started were able to escape by jumping into the water. They were rescued by a nearby recreational vessel called The Grape Escape. Sadly, one crew member who was sleeping below deck was among the 34 people who are thought to have perished in the blaze.

The fire spread rapidly and rescue efforts were hampered by the remote location of the boat, which was about 20 miles off the coast of mainland California in Platts Harbor, as well as the intensity of the flames, which reportedly flared back up each time they were extinguished. The boat eventually sank about 20 yards from the shore four hours after the fire started, with only its bow still visible above the water.

Investigators are working to determine the cause of the fire, but no evidence of a criminal act has been found so far. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) sent a team to investigate, and it was revealed that the Conception was not required to have a black box on board and did not have one. Coast Guard Capt. Monica Rochester stated that the vessel was inspected annually and had been in regulatory compliance.

The tragedy has left the scuba diving community and the families of the victims grieving. A memorial outside Truth Aquatics in the Santa Barbara Harbor grew as mourners came to pay their respects, and vigils were held to honor the victims. The names of the victims were initially withheld pending notification of kin, but authorities have since identified them and are using rapid DNA technology to confirm their identities due to the extreme thermal damage caused by the fire.

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