# Update: Deadly Conception Dive Boat Fire, Where 34 Died, Started in Trash Can **URL:** \ **Category:** Marine Incidents\ **Created:** [September 6, 2023, 10:26am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/update-deadly-conception-dive-boat-fire-where-34-died-started-in-trash-can/67060 "2023-09-06T10:26:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kennebec\_Captain](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/kennebec_captain/32/13_2.png) [@Kennebec\_Captain](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Kennebec_Captain)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2023, 10:26am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/update-deadly-conception-dive-boat-fire-where-34-died-started-in-trash-can/67060/1 "2023-09-06T10:26:38Z")
> **[Update: Deadly Conception Dive Boat Fire, Where 34 Died, Started in Trash Can...](https://www.oldsaltblog.com/2023/09/update-deadly-conception-dive-boat-fire-where-34-died-started-in-trash-can-according-to-aft/)** > > The LA Times reports that the deadly fire that broke out four years ago aboard the Conception dive boat, killing 34 people, started in a plastic trash can on the main deck, a confidential report reviewed by The Times shows. Investigators …... > Polyethylene trash cans are a [known fire risk](https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=861237), and new Subchapter T boats are [required to have](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/46/177.405) noncombustible waste receptacles in all compartments. _Conception_ was an older vessel and was exempt from this standard. Captain Jerry Boylan is scheduled to go on trial next month. ---
**Author:** ![johnny.dollar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5f8ce5/32.png) [@johnny.dollar](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/johnny.dollar)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2023, 10:53am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/update-deadly-conception-dive-boat-fire-where-34-died-started-in-trash-can/67060/2 "2023-09-06T10:53:42Z")
I re-read that statement multiple times, and I’m hoping the author just left out the _may_…as in “may have started in a trash can”. ---
**Author:** ![Kennebec\_Captain](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/kennebec_captain/32/13_2.png) [@Kennebec\_Captain](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Kennebec_Captain)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2023, 11:03am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/update-deadly-conception-dive-boat-fire-where-34-died-started-in-trash-can/67060/3 "2023-09-06T11:03:53Z")
The author of the post or the author of the LA Times article? Both are based on the same report. ---
**Author:** ![powerabout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/43a26b/32.png) [@powerabout](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/powerabout)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2023, 11:07am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/update-deadly-conception-dive-boat-fire-where-34-died-started-in-trash-can/67060/4 "2023-09-06T11:07:18Z")
> [@Kennebec\_Captain](#): > > Captain Jerry Boylan is scheduled to go on trial next month. anyone from the USCG? ---
**Author:** ![Lee\_Shore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Lee\_Shore](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Lee_Shore)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2023, 11:21am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/update-deadly-conception-dive-boat-fire-where-34-died-started-in-trash-can/67060/5 "2023-09-06T11:21:04Z")
Yeah, something is missing. The contents of the trash cans may have been combustible, the trash can itself may have been combustible, and both were in an open space. So we have fuel and oxygen but no mention of oily rags or other heat source to complete the triangle. ---
**Author:** ![johnny.dollar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5f8ce5/32.png) [@johnny.dollar](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/johnny.dollar)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2023, 12:32pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/update-deadly-conception-dive-boat-fire-where-34-died-started-in-trash-can/67060/6 "2023-09-06T12:32:49Z")
> [@Kennebec\_Captain](#): > > Both are based on the same report. Because the all knowing government agency has a time machine + teleporter to place them back at the scene of the tragedy to record it with their smart phone? > Investigators with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) built a full-scale mock-up of the middle deck of the 75-foot vessel in their quest to determine the fire’s point of origin and [cause](https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-08-31/ntsb-conception-boat-fire-investigation-findings-scheduled). They conducted a series of burn tests at their Maryland research lab, which concluded the blaze began in a rubbish container and then quickly spread. Within minutes, the boat’s main salon was in flames, the testing showed. ---
**Author:** ![Kennebec\_Captain](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/kennebec_captain/32/13_2.png) [@Kennebec\_Captain](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Kennebec_Captain)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2023, 12:55pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/update-deadly-conception-dive-boat-fire-where-34-died-started-in-trash-can/67060/7 "2023-09-06T12:55:10Z")
The [article in Marine Executive](https://maritime-executive.com/article/atf-fire-aboard-dive-boat-conception-started-in-a-trash-can) adds this detail: > A crewmember, Mickey Kohls, told investigators that he had dumped four small trash bins into the Rubbermaid polyethylene trash can located underneath the ladder. The time of this chore was about 0235 on the morning of the casualty. Kohls was awakened at 0312, 37 minutes later, by the sound of a fire on the deck below. ---
**Author:** ![Kennebec\_Captain](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/kennebec_captain/32/13_2.png) [@Kennebec\_Captain](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Kennebec_Captain)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2023, 1:29pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/update-deadly-conception-dive-boat-fire-where-34-died-started-in-trash-can/67060/8 "2023-09-06T13:29:54Z")
I suppose the article in the OP could have used 'likely". Evidence was found that the fire started in the trash bin, no evidence was found that it was started in a different location. ---
**Author:** ![powerabout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/43a26b/32.png) [@powerabout](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/powerabout)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2023, 1:40pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/update-deadly-conception-dive-boat-fire-where-34-died-started-in-trash-can/67060/9 "2023-09-06T13:40:35Z")
What started it? ---
**Author:** ![LI\_Domer](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/li_domer/32/768_2.png) [@LI\_Domer](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/LI_Domer)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2023, 1:43pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/update-deadly-conception-dive-boat-fire-where-34-died-started-in-trash-can/67060/10 "2023-09-06T13:43:41Z")
Well I guess our choices are cigarette, or …idk. Now if I was a surviving crew member who killed 34 people bc I threw a cigarette in the trash, I don’t think I would want to come forward. EDIT: On the other hand who on a boat throws a cig in the trash. You care enough about the environment not to just toss it overboard, but are lazy enough that you toss into the trash? I guess we’ll never know ---
**Author:** ![Lee\_Shore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Lee\_Shore](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Lee_Shore)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2023, 2:04pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/update-deadly-conception-dive-boat-fire-where-34-died-started-in-trash-can/67060/11 "2023-09-06T14:04:15Z")
That could be a piece of the puzzle. Someone could have thrown a small rechargeable battery in the trash before turning in. They have been known to self-combust. ---
**Author:** ![jimmyinTEXAS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/94ad74/32.png) [@jimmyinTEXAS](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/jimmyinTEXAS)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2023, 6:30pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/update-deadly-conception-dive-boat-fire-where-34-died-started-in-trash-can/67060/12 "2023-09-13T18:30:45Z")
Truly tragic. There was an emergency exit hatch. Was it blocked? There is much information that needs to come out in the trial. ---
**Author:** ![dbeierl](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/dbeierl/32/11833_2.png) [@dbeierl](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/dbeierl)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2023, 6:43pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/update-deadly-conception-dive-boat-fire-where-34-died-started-in-trash-can/67060/13 "2023-09-13T18:43:07Z")
> [@jimmyinTEXAS](#): > > There was an emergency exit hatch. It was tiny and not easy to get through. ---
**Author:** ![Kennebec\_Captain](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/kennebec_captain/32/13_2.png) [@Kennebec\_Captain](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Kennebec_Captain)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2023, 8:20pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/update-deadly-conception-dive-boat-fire-where-34-died-started-in-trash-can/67060/14 "2023-09-13T20:20:59Z")
Yes, and both exits were to the same space, which was on fire. ---
**Author:** ![Ctony](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/ctony/32/189_2.png) [@Ctony](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Ctony)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2023, 8:21pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/update-deadly-conception-dive-boat-fire-where-34-died-started-in-trash-can/67060/15 "2023-09-13T20:21:56Z")
> [@jimmyinTEXAS](#): > > There was an emergency exit hatch. Yes, that exited into the galley where the fire started supposedly. ---
**Author:** ![jimmyinTEXAS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/94ad74/32.png) [@jimmyinTEXAS](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/jimmyinTEXAS)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2023, 8:37pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/update-deadly-conception-dive-boat-fire-where-34-died-started-in-trash-can/67060/16 "2023-09-13T20:37:50Z")
OUCH! Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![johnny.dollar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5f8ce5/32.png) [@johnny.dollar](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/johnny.dollar)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2023, 8:47pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/update-deadly-conception-dive-boat-fire-where-34-died-started-in-trash-can/67060/17 "2023-09-13T20:47:37Z")
> [@Ctony](#): > > into the galley where the fire started supposedly. not “supposedly”, it’s a FACT, because the .gov report says so. In the galley, in the trashcan! All determined somehow by looking at a boat wreckage that was basically burnt to the waterline. But yeah…all facts! ---
**Author:** ![Ctony](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/ctony/32/189_2.png) [@Ctony](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Ctony)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2023, 9:01pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/update-deadly-conception-dive-boat-fire-where-34-died-started-in-trash-can/67060/18 "2023-09-13T21:01:16Z")
I may have misread the last article about the crew member talking about the trash can, but i thought it was a trash can aft of the galley near the door. Either way, fire in a trash can outside the galley that spread or a fire caused by the excessive amount of shit plugged into an electrical outlet inside the galley, the galley/salon had one way in and out and the bunkroom had no way in or out without going thru the galley. Those poor people didn’t have a chance. ---
**Author:** ![Kennebec\_Captain](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/kennebec_captain/32/13_2.png) [@Kennebec\_Captain](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Kennebec_Captain)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2023, 10:48am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/update-deadly-conception-dive-boat-fire-where-34-died-started-in-trash-can/67060/19 "2023-09-14T10:48:16Z")
![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/gcaptain_maritime_forum/original/3X/6/1/61b0760ffdfe2545c4552e328ca9e6e246fc6ce3.jpeg) Photo of trash bin on the main deck. (NTSB) From Marine Executive: > A crewmember, Mickey Kohls, told investigators that he had dumped four small trash bins into the Rubbermaid polyethylene trash can located underneath the ladder. The time of this chore was about 0235 on the morning of the casualty. Kohls was awakened at 0312, 37 minutes later, by the sound of a fire on the deck below. LA Times Article is here: [Conception boat fire that killed 34 people started in plastic trash can, confidential report says](https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-09-02/deadly-conception-boat-fire-started-in-plastic-trash-can-atf-report-reveals) > The report, authored by ATF Special Agent Derek J. Hill in January 2021, concluded that “after conducting a systematic fire scene examination, reviewing witness statements, examining pre-fire and fire photographs and videos, and conducting test fires, by inspecting physical evidence, interpreting fire patterns, considering fire dynamics,” agents determined “the fire originated in the garbage container located under the staircase.” ---
**Author:** ![johnny.dollar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5f8ce5/32.png) [@johnny.dollar](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/johnny.dollar)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2023, 11:10am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/update-deadly-conception-dive-boat-fire-where-34-died-started-in-trash-can/67060/20 "2023-09-14T11:10:52Z")
> [@Kennebec\_Captain](#): > > agents determined “the fire originated in the garbage container located under the staircase.” Only a .gov employee would speak with such certainty. [Next page](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/update-deadly-conception-dive-boat-fire-where-34-died-started-in-trash-can/67060.md?page=2)