Reminds me of a few quick lessons/comments
Automatic ER extinguishing systems are good. The guy in the story had to open it up and expose himself to the flames and smoke. Would an AER have stopped his fire? Most of them, probably not from the sounds of it but would have bought him some more time for sure, and lessened his exposure and risk. I was lucky to have two systems on my Hatt, one for the main ERs and one for the generator and utility room which also had a bunch of batteries in it. Each equipped with internal and external alarms as well.
Batteries and attendant electrical connections.. remind me of the lyric from "Tommy" : "See me, feel me, touch me.." how often do you take warmth tests (by hand and/or thermometer) of these, especially when under load? Most chargers have a temperature sensor with ability to have readout on a remote... ever look at that on a regular basis?. Issues like the one in the article are not often sudden, but develop over time.
How fast can you abandon ship? We tried to make a habit of having the Whaler tied off to the swim platform as much as possible, even in port. When anchoring or mooring, launching it was part of the process. Admittedly, the main reason was because we liked to use it as much as possible, but the abandon ship aspect was always there. Fire or sinking prevents access to dinghy? Up to the flying bridge and the life raft, if possible.
Regardless, how quick can you get to your PFDs and ditch bag in the middle of the night? Can you get out of the boat from your stateroom? Our Hatt had two large portlights/escape hatches in the transom directly to the swim platform. Even we could fit through them. The dinghy was kept preloaded with safety and some survival gear.