The Blame Game...
Did careless smoking cause the fire aboard the Star Princess?  One firefighter from CreveCouer Missouri, who was vacationing on the ship at the time doubts it. 

According the live broadcast interview of  Mr Scholl, he said the fire spread so quickly that the alarms never had time to sound, and the sprinkler system either was not working, or did not have time to activate.  These are not typical of careless-smoking induced fires..according to Mr. Scholl. Those fires spread slowly.

Of course, Princess Cruise Lines wouldn't want to admit they might be to blame for the fire, and this makes one wonder, just how many fires blamed on smoking might actually have another cause?  Just because a cigarette is found at the scene does not mean the cigarette caused the fire.

- A Newsletter Reader

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Creve Coeur Firefighter Recalls Experiences Aboard Burning Cruise Ship

March 25, 2006
By Alex Fees

(KSDK) - Creve Coeur Deputy Fire Chief Terry Scholl and five of his family members returned from vacation late Friday night and they've got quite a story to tell. They were on board the Star Princess cruise ship that caught fire early Thursday morning between the Cayman Islands and Jamaica. One man was killed and 150 cabins were damaged.

"I stuck my head out," said Scholl, "and looked down the hallway and I could see a lot of black smoke down there. So I went out on our balcony and from our balcony looking about 10 or 12 cabins down you could see flames just rolling out. So I grabbed my camera and I stuck it out and shot about four or five pictures real quick."

Scholl said after making sure his family made it to one of the secure areas of the ship he went back in to help.

"As I started up the stairs there was a lady sitting there and she was covered in soot and coughing and gagging. And there was a young girl there with her (who was) one of the ship's crew. And I came around the corner and said, 'Do you need help?' And she said, 'Are you a doctor?' And I said, 'No, I'm a fireman.'"

Scholl said he is surprised more people were not killed in the fire.

"That would have been a multiple alarm fire anywhere in the country with paid, professional firefighters."

Scholl compliments the work cruise crew members did trying to fight that fire. That's high praise coming from a 35-year veteran firefighter. But he questions whether all that damage could have been caused by an unattended cigarette.

"On a building that is fully sprinklered and fully alarmed with a smoldering cigarette, the smoke will be detected before it breaks out into a full fire. Once it breaks out into a full fire in a trash can or something a sprinkler will put it out."

All 2,600 Star Princess passengers were offered full refunds and a 25 percent discount on another cruise this year or next. Scholl said despite his experience, he would take another trip on Princess Cruise Lines.

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