TF Members escape Manatee Fire

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Based on how the owner described the emergence of smoke from different areas, a TV seems an unlikely cause. But you never know. I'll be very interested to see what we can learn from this. That's about the only positive from such an event.
 
The thought of standing on the dock in pajamas watching one's boat burn is too much to contemplate. Thoughts and prayers with the owners...

What I can think about is how it happened. Not knowing the layout, if the TV is in/on a bulkhead in a (lower?) stateroom, then maybe it makes sense the smoke was coming out of the bulkheads from different locations as viewed from the galley (up?)

If the TV is always plugged in, and the inverter had just been started before the fire, then the TV is certainly a candidate. Bad power supply (capacitor failure?) exacerbated by a modified sine wave or square wave it wasn't designed for. Or a voltage drop with the inverter trying to power the coffee maker, TV and whatever else was plugged in...

All just speculation. But there are a few nuggets there we can all take back to our own boats. Certainly it's a good practice to unplug any AC electronic appliance when not in use. And I'll be giving a lot of thought as to where I leave my clothes and wallet when sleeping!
 
CaptTom,
"pajamas"?? Hmmm, I remember reading about those.
 
Thoughts and prayers are with you guys. Glad no one was hurt! Hopefully all turns out in your favor.
 
Yow, such a disaster, very glad to hear everyone made it out safely.

With AC circuits (and most DC) I keep everything off unless it's being actively used. TV, water heater, etc, far less potential trouble to flip it on when needed vs leaving it unattended and live.

Not that I'm second-guessing these folks, far from it. Sometimes disasters like this help remind the rest of us (equally likely to have it happen) that there are some preventative steps we should all consider.
 
twistedtree said:
Based on how the owner described the emergence of smoke from different areas, a TV seems an unlikely cause. But you never know. I'll be very interested to see what we can learn from this. That's about the only positive from such an event.
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Given how AC systems on boats distribute air it's possible that affected how it appeared to emerge. But then I've no idea how that KK handles the air returns.
 
silentfaith said:
Just read thread, thank you for all the kind reply's. the team from the mark anthony mega yacht will be doing the inspection next week, I will keep you informed of the outcome. cpt.craig
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Happy to hear you guys are ok. Good to see you're posting. Good luck. Best of wishes getting settled. I hope your holidays get better.
 
silentfaith said:
Just read thread, thank you for all the kind reply's. the team from the mark anthony mega yacht will be doing the inspection next week, I will keep you informed of the outcome. cpt.craig
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Glad everybody is ok. We were just there for the Christmas parade last weekend. We live close buy let us know if we can help. Did they haul you there or Marathon boat yard?

Bud and Dawn
 
Sad news. Thankful everyone is OK.
 
silentfaith said:
Just read thread, thank you for all the kind reply's. the team from the mark anthony mega yacht will be doing the inspection next week, I will keep you informed of the outcome. cpt.craig
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After Mark Anthony, yours will seem small. The salvage and environmental protection alone of Mark Anthony's boat is estimated at $300,000. Sure a reminder of the importance of insurance for environmental and salvage.

Best of luck in quick resolution and hope they do figure out the probable cause. I don't buy the tv think at all. Just an easy, convenient speculation by someone. Anything electrical can ignite with toasters leading the way, tv's perhaps somewhere behind, but electrical fires generally come from wiring issues of some sort even if manifested in an appliance. Do you know if the marina was GFCI compliant?
 
and once you get the insurance check, you get to start the search again.
You and your partner just might find a cure for that 5footitis
 
I'd suspect the inverter as it was just turned on when the fire started. Would be interesting to know the model.
 
So Sorry this happened to you guys but am so glad you guys are ok... I hope for the best outcome with the insurance
 
This is a good reminder... recently we discovered that our smart battery charger had failed and likely overcharged one of the AGM batteries causing it to explode and burn up. Thankfully nothing caught on and it was contained. But a scarry reminder of the importance to check all connections, bus bars, batteries etc at least periodically or on some kind of schedule.
 
another thought...

thank goodness all are well..
fiberglass is plastic.. which is not on my value list of equivalents to friends or any other humans!!
my question.. hopefully, when my house battery switch is turned to "off" (usually during storage time..) my inverter.. and therefore any other
"stupidly always on" AC powered devices are "off"...
believe me... on this spring re-comissioning, that is the first thing i will check...
Pat and Craig... by your misfortune.. look at all of those you have helped..maybe even saved their lives !!
"BEST OF LUCK TO YA !!"
Pete s..
 
tv fire

a few years ago during a sea trial for a boat I almost bought, the tv started smoking and was ready to burst into flames. I grabbed a rag and pulled the plug before any flames were visible. the surveyor checked the wiring, inverter etc and found no problems, I never heard of a tv that was not "on" catching fire but I saw this one first hand. I never leave anything electrical plugged in on my boat now as a result unless I am using it.
glad you are both safe, boats can be replaced, people, not so much.
 
Based on the incident description, it seems that the fire was apparent in many places on the boat more or less at once. It seems that the fire came from underneath the cabin like from the ER or bilges.

Also, while it is possible that the TV could have started the fire, if fire from a modern TV was a common occurrence, there'd be a lot of homes burned by now (between all the TVs and computer monitors in the world today).

Nowadays TVs are all low voltage internally. The only high voltage thing in them is the input side of the power supply. Early flat screens could have high voltage for the backlight, but they are all LED now.

Even old CRT type TVs that had pretty high voltage in them, rarely caught fire.

Wonder if there were any lithium batteries charging somewhere?
 
All boats are self-contained one degree or another.

Compare this to a house, I would suggest the boat is more self-contained in less square feet. That means, the boat and the house have the same 'potentials' to ignite, alas in a much smaller space resulting in less time to react. This means, as often reported in the media, the inability to collect the family photos etc.
The greatest and most important thing is, they saved each other.
Alas the insurance company will not put you up in a rental boat until you are satisfied with the settlement and reconstruction.
 
Very sorry for your loss. Do you know what caused the fire?
 
Ah buggah! As much as I identify with my boat, it is indeed just a boat.

Give each other an extra hug and realize that you are both safe and sound.

All the best to you in the coming year.
 
Wifey B: I'm always relieved when no lives lost, no serious injuries, whether wreck or storm or fire or whatever and quick to say that the physical or material things can be replaced, human life can't. However, we all need to be careful not to minimize the impact on the owners and their families. Emotionally, a lot of what if's. Not all that long ago we had a family on the TN river with a fire and as far as I know they got completely out of boating after. On top of the emotional impact you have the months of insurance and then deciding how to go forward if at all, and for the same money no one will ever find something they like as well as what they lost. I look at Hopcar and his loss and, again to my knowledge, two years later and still no boat. He had the perfect boat for him.

There's a term tossed around by insurer's of being "made whole." Well, that's financial and not even all the way true there. But the reality is Silent Faith won't be made whole after this. The trauma of the fire will have a lasting effect. I think of Cardude and by comparison a relatively minor loss but he had weeks of wondering, then the trip to get the boat home and only now has begun the process of settling and repairing.

While I'm so glad in this case no one was hurt and it is only loss of property, I just want to be sure Silent Faith knows we do sympathize and we know the pain and distress isn't at all insignificant. Best of luck in your recovery from this event. :)
 
ssobol said:
Based on the incident description, it seems that the fire was apparent in many places on the boat more or less at once. It seems that the fire came from underneath the cabin like from the ER or bilges.

Also, while it is possible that the TV could have started the fire, if fire from a modern TV was a common occurrence, there'd be a lot of homes burned by now (between all the TVs and computer monitors in the world today).

Nowadays TVs are all low voltage internally. The only high voltage thing in them is the input side of the power supply. Early flat screens could have high voltage for the backlight, but they are all LED now.
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Couple of points:
Low voltage doesn't preclude being able to start a fire. I had a 12 VDC bilge pump start a fire with less than 5 amps. My guess is that if you look at BoatUs statistics, you will find more fires are started on recreational boats by 12 VDC.

TV fires are quite rare, thankfully. Most home consumer electronics are quite safe. That doesn't mean it's not possible. Also, how many incidents go unreported. If you are working on an old home computer and it dies with a wisp of smoke from the power supply, how much trouble do you go to with reporting? I would wager that most would say it was time, and go buy a new one.

Sadly, gone are the days when the "On" switch was tuned off, power stopped going to the electronics.

Ted
 
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Glad no one was injured or worse. Scary stuff, for sure. Looks like the FD did a good job of fighting it and not letting it spread to neighboring boats.
 
So well said, WifeyB. Of course, individual broken hearts seem to prompt individual results. Our Manatee group had only lost one out of the 99 built up to 2015. Now in the last three years, three more boats gone. First, TF members and live-aboard couple Mike & Dotty on “Cool Beans” had a devastating total loss during Hurricane Irma in Marathon, FL. They picked themselves up, went in search of a new “Cool Beans” Manatee and in spite of an enormous list of challenges since, they have stubbornly returned to their life aboard.

Then came the Swans in New Bern, NC, where the surge of Hurricane Florence took down nearly every boat in their marina. Again, a total loss (found upside-down at the slip when the river receded), but the Swans didn’t look for a return to status-quo. Maybe it will change in the future, but I got the impression that their broken hearts are permanent, and they didn’t want to even think about another boat.

Only time will tell what’s next for Craig & Pat. I hope they choose healing, whatever that means to them. Perhaps the real answer lies within the meaning of the name on their transom: “Silent Faith“
 
Sorry for your loss.

Craig and Pat, I am very sorry for the loss you experienced with your boats fire, and am glad you were able to escape unharmed. It will be hard deciding where you go from here, especially if you were living aboard, (which from the posts it sounds like you were). So best to you, and I hope you get through the coming journey without too much pain. Best to you both,

Alex
 
For Craig and Pat, be assured my thoughts and prayers are added to the list. This is heart-wrenching. I am glad you survived. This is so scary, and I wasn't even there.

Both WifeyB and Larry spoke so eloquently ... So for you I wish comfort in the days ahead.

Good wishes to you both.
 
May the year "tu-o / tu-o" bring you good fortune!
 
Craig and Pat, my condolences on the loss of your boat. I can relate to the emotional loss, having lost the Celestial a little over a year ago during Hurricane Michael. Fortunately, within a month the insurance claim was paid, but I am reminded of it every day as I look out at our dock. It is just now getting repaired - because most of the working folks around here lost their homes and had to move elsewhere. Dock repair folks are now coming back into the area, but it has been a long wait. Our dock is now about half repaired (Christmas - so workers went home - to Texas). We hope they return....
 
O C Diver said:
...TV fires are quite rare, thankfully. Most home consumer electronics are quite safe. That doesn't mean it's not possible. Also, how many incidents go unreported. If you are working on an old home computer and it dies with a wisp of smoke from the power supply, how much trouble do you go to with reporting? ...
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A wisp of smoke is a lot different than setting the place on fire.

As for the reporting, yeah most incidents of failure go unreported because nothing bad happens. If a typical TV failure caused someone's house to burn down, we'd be hearing about it for sure. And consumer organizations would be all over it.
 
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