My Honeymoon Ship Set Ablaze

I am a newleywed, and my wife and I had the most memorable honeymoon aboard the lovely Cruise Liner, the Star Princess. I was heartbroken today when I saw so many of its cabins gutted by a fire that was blamed on a cigarette.

From CBS4 here:

A cigarette is being blamed for starting a fire that killed an American passenger on board the ?Star Princess? cruise ship in the Caribbean.

A Princess Cruises spokeswoman says the victim died after suffering a heart attack.

Eleven other passengers suffered smoke inhalation from the fire which broke out around 3:00 a.m.

The blaze damaged about 150 cabins before the crew could put it out.

A U.S. Coast Guard officer in Miami says investigators and fire engineers are headed to the ship to help nail down the cause and decide if the ship is seaworthy. The officer says safety is the “number-one concern.”

The ship was sailing from Grand Cayman to Montego Bay when the fire started.

Passengers were immediately notified of the fire using the public address system and were asked to report to their muster stations.

The ship is carrying a total of 2,690 passengers and 1,123 crew members.

Star Princess sailed from Fort Lauderdale on March 19 on a western Caribbean itinerary with calls at Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Montego Bay and Princess Cays.

I am a bit suspicious that they would blame a cigarette for setting fire to the ship, especially before the officials with the Coast Guard can determine the exact cause. Would this be a way to deflect culpability away from the Cruise Line? Would this be a way to force cruise ships to go non-smoking? I will wait for the official word before I pass any judgement here.

Also, a fire aboard ship at sea is probably one of the most frightening things anyone could experience, both for passengers, crew, and even the Captain. Thousands of hours of training go into preparation for fire fighting, and a fire can still cause a ship to sink because of the amount of water required to control it. Remember the recent sinking of an Egyptian ferry? A fire broke out, but the water from fighting the fire caused the ballast of the ship to tilt, and the ship went under.

Kudos to the crew of the Star Princess for bravely and heroically dealing with this disaster with a minimum amount of injury