Boat owners to blame for California boat fire that killed 34 in 2019, investigators say
Joseph Wilkinson
A California boat company is responsible for the 2019 Labor Day weekend fire that killed 34 people aboard a scuba boat, according to federal investigators.
The captain, five crew members and 33 passengers were aboard the anchored Conception when it caught fire early in the morning of Sept. 2, 2019 near Santa Barbara. Captain Jerry Boylan and four crew members, who were sleeping above deck, jumped to safety, but all 33 passengers and one crew member below deck died from smoke inhalation.
In a photo provided by the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, the dive boat Conception is engulfed in flames after a deadly fire broke out aboard the commercial scuba diving vessel off the Southern California Coast.
In a photo provided by the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, the dive boat Conception is engulfed in flames after a deadly fire broke out aboard the commercial scuba diving vessel off the Southern California Coast.
The National Transportation Safety Board ruled Tuesday that boating company Truth Aquatics, which is owned by Glen Fritzler, was at fault for the deadly fire.
Most notably, the Conception didn’t have a night watchman that night, the NTSB said. A watchman is required under federal law, and the lack of one allowed the fire to spread without anyone raising the alarm, which prevented any chance at later escape and directly led to the high death toll.
Additionally, the surviving crew told investigators that they’d been given no safety or emergency training.
Investigators said that the devastation of the fire and subsequent sinking of the Conception made it impossible to determine exactly how the blaze started. They suspect it was caused by lithium cell phone batteries charging toward the back of the ship.
The NTSB also put some blame on the U.S. Coast Guard for its lax enforcement of passenger boat rules and recommended a few changes to those regulations.
“The Conception may have passed all Coast Guard inspections, but that did not make it safe,” NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt said in a press release.
Both of the Conception’s below deck escape routes led to the same room, which was blocked by the raging fire, NTSB investigators said. Additionally, the boat didn’t have smoke alarms in all indoor areas, allowing passengers to sleep peacefully below deck while the fire started above.
A memorial for dive boat victims lost at sea continues to go strong at Sea Landing boat dock, in the Santa Barbara Harbor, where the Conception was harbored prior to the Labor Day accident that killed 34 people on a three-day vacation to the Channel Islands.
Santa Barbara community members and visitors stop by to pay their respects at a memorial for the victims of a fatal California dive boat fire on Sept. 2, 2019.
Photos of those who lost their lives are surrounded by flowers, many now dried, but with fresh one's still being brought daily. Every night candles are lit by volunteers who tend the memorial and keep watch over the spirits of the dead.
A memorial for deadly dive boat fire pays tribute to victims lost at sea during the early hours on Sept. 2, 2019.
Agents with the FBI's Evidence Response Team and other agencies search the Truth Aquatics' offices, the California company that owned the scuba diving boat that caught fire and killed 34 people last week, as authorities issue a search warrant for the company and the sister vessels of the Conception dive boat on the Santa Barbara Harbor in Santa Barbara, Calif. on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2019.
An FBI photographer takes evidence pictures as authorities search the Truth Aquatics' offices, the California company that owned the scuba diving boat that caught fire and killed dozens of people last week, on the Santa Barbara Harbor in Santa Barbara, Calif. on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2019.
FBI agents search the Truth dive boat, a sister vessel to the Conception, as authorities issue a search warrant for the Truth Aquatics' offices on the Santa Barbara Harbor in Santa Barbara, Calif. on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2019.
FBI agents walk past a memorial for the victims of the Conception dive boat on the Santa Barbara Harbor as authorities issue a search warrant for the Truth Aquatics' offices in Santa Barbara, Calif. on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2019. The office was ringed in red "crime scene" tape as more than a dozen agents took photos and carried out boxes. Thirty-four people died when the Conception burned and sank before dawn on Sept. 2. They were sleeping in a cramped bunkroom below the main deck and their escape routes were blocked by fire.
Bethany Holt, left, kneels with her son Jimmy, 15, during a vigil on Friday, Sept. 6, 2019, in Santa Barbara, Calif. for the victims who died aboard the dive boat Conception.
People visit a growing memorial to the victims who died aboard the dive boat Conception as its sister boat Vision sits in the background on Friday, Sept. 6, 2019, in Santa Barbara, Calif.
Glen Fritzler, left, co-owner of Truth Aquatics and the dive boat Conception, is seen during a vigil on Friday, Sept. 6, 2019, in Santa Barbara, Calif.
Agents with the FBI walk into the Truth Aquatics office, the California company that owned the scuba diving boat that caught fire and killed 34 people last week, as authorities issue a search warrant for the company and the sister vessels of the Conception dive boat on the Santa Barbara Harbor in Santa Barbara, Calif. on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2019.
People gather around a memorial for the victims of the Conception dive boat fire as authorities search the Truth Aquatics' offices, the California company that owned the scuba diving boat that caught fire and killed dozens of people last week, on the Santa Barbara Harbor in Santa Barbara, Calif. on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2019.
Red crime scene tape is placed by a memorial for the victims of the Conception dive boat fire on the Santa Barbara Harbor as authorities issue a search warrant for the Truth Aquatics' offices on the Santa Barbara Harbor in Santa Barbara, Calif. on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2019.
Agents with the FBI set a perimeter around the Truth Aquatics office, the California company that owned the scuba diving boat that caught fire and killed 34 people last week, as authorities issue a search warrant for the company and the sister vessels of the Conception dive boat on the Santa Barbara Harbor in Santa Barbara, Calif. on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2019.
Attendees grieve during a vigil on Friday, Sept. 6, 2019, in Santa Barbara, Calif. The Sept. 2 fire took the lives of 34 people on the ship off Santa Cruz Island off the Southern California coast near Santa Barbara.
Scout Lord, 3, hugs her mom Kim during a public vigil for victims of the Conception boat fire on Sept. 5, 2019, in Santa Monica, Calif. The remains of 33 victims have been recovered after the commercial scuba diving ship Conception caught fire, and later sank, while anchored near Santa Cruz Island.
People embrace during a public vigil for victims of the Conception boat fire on Sept. 5, 2019 in Santa Monica, Calif.
People walk in a procession on the beach during a public vigil for victims of the Conception boat fire on Sept. 5, 2019, in Santa Monica, Calif.
Scout Lord, 3, holds a flower on the beach during a public vigil for victims of the Conception boat fire on Sept. 5, 2019, in Santa Monica, Calif.
People embrace at a public vigil for victims of the Conception boat fire on Sept. 5, 2019, in Santa Monica, Calif.
Law enforcement personnel, including a member of the FBI Underwater Search and Evidence Response Team, wait on a jetty on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2019, in Santa Barbara, Calif. At least 33 people are thought dead and one person is still missing. Five crew members including the captain escaped and are alive. All 34 victims were thought to be in small sleeping quarters on the lowest level of the three-floor boat and had little chance of surviving, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said at a press conference on Sept. 3, 2019.
FBI investigators unload equipment to begin examining evidence obtained from the wreckage of the dive boat Conception on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2019, in Santa Barbara, Calif. A fire raged through the boat carrying recreational scuba divers anchored near an island off the Southern California Coast on September 2, leaving at least 33 people dead.
People embrace at Santa Barbara Harbor at a makeshift memorial on Sept. 3, 2019, for victims of the Conception boat that caught fire and sank, while moored near Santa Cruz Island, in the early morning hours of September 2 in Santa Barbara, Calif.
Coast Guard Capt. Monica Rochester, center, pauses as officials address the media outside the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office headquarters in Santa Barbara, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2019.
Authorities lock away evidence taken from the scuba boat Conception in Santa Barbara Harbor at the end of their second day searching for the remaining divers on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2019, in Santa Barbara, Calif. High school students, a science teacher and his daughter, an adventurous marine biologist and a family of five celebrating a birthday are among those presumed to have died when a fire tore through the scuba diving boat off the Southern California coast on Monday, trapping 34 people thought to be sleeping people below deck.
A woman lights a candle in Santa Barbara Harbor at a makeshift memorial on Sept. 3, 2019, for the victims of the Conception boat fire in Santa Barbara, Calif.
Members of the FBI Evidence Response Team work in front of the ship Truth, a sister ship of the diving ship Conception, on Sept. 3, 2019, in Santa Barbara, Calif. Conception caught fire and sank while anchored near Santa Cruz Island in the early morning hours of September 2. Authorities on Tuesday suspended the search for survivors of a scuba diving boat disaster in Santa Cruz Island off the California coast after recovering 20 bodies and spotting another four to six trapped in underwater wreckage. The bodies of 11 women and nine men were transferred to coroner offices following the disaster on September 2.
Flowers, candles, notes and artifacts are seen at a makeshift memorial for the victims of a scuba diving boat fire on Sept. 3, 2019, in Santa Barbara, Calif.
Authorities prepare to bring ashore evidence gathered from the scuba diving ship Conception on Sept. 3, 2019, in Santa Barbara, Calif. Officials believe none of the 34 people below deck survived after the commercial diving ship caught fire and eventually sank, while anchored near Santa Cruz Island, in the early morning hours of September 2. Five crew members survived.
Candles flicker in Santa Barbara Harbor at a makeshift memorial for the victims of the Conception boat fire on Sept. 3, 2019, in Santa Barbara, Calif. Authorities believe none of the 34 people below deck survived after the commercial scuba diving ship caught fire and sank, while anchored near Santa Cruz Island, in the early morning hours of September 2. Five crew members survived.
A woman kneels at a makeshift memorial in Santa Barbara Harbor for victims of the Conception boat fire on Sept. 3, 2019, in Santa Barbara, Calif. Authorities believe none of the 34 people below deck survived after the commercial scuba diving ship caught fire and sank, while anchored near Santa Cruz Island, in the early morning hours of September 2. Five crew members survived.
In this handout provided by Santa Barbara County Fire Department, the 75-foot Conception, based in Santa Barbara Harbor, burns after catching fire early on Sept. 2, 2019, anchored off Santa Cruz Island, Calif. At least 33 people are thought dead and one person is still missing following a fatal fire that broke out on the 75 ft. dive boat Conception, off the coast of Santa Cruz Island in California, in the early morning hours of Sept. 2, 2019. Five crew members including the captain escaped and are alive. All 34 victims were thought to be in small sleeping quarters on the lowest level of the three-floor boat and had little chance of surviving, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said at a press conference on Sept. 3, 2019.
A pair of fines and flowers are placed on a memorial outside of the Sea Landing at Santa Barbara Harbor in Santa Barbara , Calif. following the Sept. 2, 2019 dive boat fire.
California residents JJ Lambert, 38, and his fiancee, Jenna Marsala, 33, hang up a dive flag in remembrance of the victims of the Conception boat fire at a memorial site on Sept. 2, 2019, in Santa Barbara, Calif.
In this photo provided by the Ventura County Fire Department, VCFD firefighters respond to a dive boat fire off the coast of southern California on Sept. 2, 2019. The U.S. Coast Guard said it has launched several boats to help over two dozen people "in distress" off the coast of southern Califorinia the night of the blaze.
This image made from video released by TowBoatUS Ventura shows a VCFD firefighter attempting to put out the burning out charter dive boat "Conception" before it sank off Santa Cruz Island, near the coast of Ventura County, Calif., early Sept. 2, 2019.
This image made from video released by TowBoatUS Ventura shows an emergency responder dousing the remains of the dive boat "Conception" before it sank off Santa Cruz Island, near the coast of Ventura County, Calif., early Sept. 2, 2019.
Santa Barbara City Search and Rescue, along with Santa Barbara Sheriff officers, wheel a recovered body away on the dock at Santa Barbara Harbor in Santa Barbara, Calif. on Sept. 2, 2019. The body was recovered from the remains of the dive boat fire near Santa Cruz Island early Monday.
Local law enforcement, along with search and rescue teams, help unload the bodies of those who died in a diving boat fire on Sept. 2, 2019, in Santa Barbara, Calif.
Santa Barbara City Search and Rescue, along with Santa Barbara Sheriff officers, move a recovered body on the dock at Santa Barbara Harbor in Santa Barbara, Calif. on Sept. 2, 2019.
California resident Orlando Aldana, 42, of Santa Barbara, bought 34 candles in honor of the victims to place at the growing memorial for those caught in the fire on the Conception boat on Sept. 2, 2019, in Santa Barbara, Calif.
James Miranda, of Santa Barbara, takes a moment to remember the victims of the dive boat fire at a dock near the Sea Landing at Santa Barbara Harbor in Santa Barbara , Calif. on Sept. 2, 2019.
James Miranda, of Santa Barbara, drops flowers in remembrance of the victims of the dive boat fire into the water at a dock near the Sea Landing at Santa Barbara Harbor in Santa Barbara , Calif. on Sept. 2, 2019.
Santa Barbara City Search and Rescue, along with Santa Barbara Sheriff officers, move a recovered body on the dock at Santa Barbara Harbor in Santa Barbara, Calif. on Sept. 2, 2019.
A woman is comforted by member of Ventura County Fire department at U.S. Coast Guard Station Channel Islands in Oxnard, Calif. on Sept. 2, 2019, following Monday's fatal dive boat fire.
Neither of these faults are against current Coast Guard rules. The NTSB has no regulatory or criminal prosecution authority, so the Coast Guard can choose not to follow the recommendations.
The U.S. Attorney’s office is handling criminal prosecution in the case, and charges are expected against boat captain Jerry Boylan, the Associated Press reported. The NTSB said that Boylan and the surviving crew members made several attempts to save the people they left behind, but were blocked by fire.
Additionally, the families of 32 victims have filed lawsuits against Truth Aquatics and its owner, Fritzler, according to the AP. The company is trying to avoid those suits behind a pre-Civil War maritime law.
