Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins
Interesting. Is this your theory of what happened, or do you have more information on this? I'm not being contrary - I mean, it sounds like the most likely scenario, and I agree with your theory (if that is what it is).
Such a scenario raises what is, to me, a painfully obvious questions - wouldn't there be some sort of a detection mechanism and an alarm that would sound under these conditions?
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Just my theory but having spent a
lot of time on sailboats with propane stoves over the last 30+ years I am very much aware of the dangers of a propane leak in an enclosed area like a boat. The storage tanks themselves would be in exterior lockers and vented overboard. It is the leaks down below where the problem is. As I said, propane is heavier than air and settles in the low areas of the boat.
It is the only thing I can think of that would cause a conflagaration like that where no one has a chance of escaping. I have heard of other boats (mainly rundown shrimpers) going off like that and it being because of propane leaks.
On my boats, unless we were actually using the propane stove, we had the valves turned off at the propane tanks. I would never go to sleep with the tank valves open.
they absolutely should have had a propane leak detector . They either didn't or it was not functioning. Again, just my theory.