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A year later, families mourn Conception boat fire victims - Los Angeles Times

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After the sun crept over the horizon Wednesday, the familiar soundtrack of this seaside city — crashing waves and circling seagulls — was, for a moment, drowned out by the reverberation of a chiming bell.

The chimes pierced the air 34 times — once for each of the victims who died a year ago when the Conception dive boat burned and sank off Santa Cruz Island, marking the deadliest maritime disaster in modern California history.

Sometime around 3:30 a.m. on Sept. 2, 2019, crew members aboard the Conception, a 75-foot, wood-hulled vessel, woke up to a loud noise and saw massive flames in the boat’s galley. Directly below the fire, in the belly of the boat, was the main bunk room, where passengers slept, resting up for a scuba excursion.

The only escape routes were through two small exits that opened into the part of the boat that was already engulfed in flames. Five crew members escaped, but 33 passengers and one crew member sleeping below deck died in the fire. The Santa Barbara County coroner determined that the victims died of smoke inhalation.

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Jenny Stafford, who maintains a memorial for the people who died in the Conception boat fire, joins anniversary observance.

Jenny Stafford, who maintains a memorial for the people who died in the Conception boat fire, joined victims’ family members and friends who gathered at Santa Barbara Harbor on the anniversary of the accident.

(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

A preliminary National Transportation Safety Board investigation concluded that crew members had been asleep in the wheelhouse and that there was no one awake keeping watch, which is required by the U.S. Coast Guard during hours when passengers are asleep below deck.

On Monday, the NTSB announced that it would hold a hearing in October to reveal the final results of its investigation of the origins and cause of the fire, as well as an examination of the events that led up to the tragedy. The Coast Guard is conducting a criminal probe of the fire in consultation with the U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the FBI.

A Times investigation found that the Coast Guard had rejected prior NTSB recommendations for tougher fire safety rules for small boats like the Conception. The Coast Guard has the sole authority over such vessels.

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During a message recorded ahead of the anniversary ceremony, and later in conversation, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown remembered the victims. Many lived in California, he said, but others were visiting from as far as China, Singapore and India.

A plaque memorializing the 34 lives lost in the Conception dive boat fire.

A plaque memorializing the 34 lives lost in the Conception dive boat fire.

(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Among them, Brown said, were scientists, engineers, athletes, immigrants, chief executives, high schoolers, a nutritionist, a biologist, a marine conservationist, a hairdresser, a photographer, a venture capitalist and a visual effects designer.

“United by their mutual sense of adventure and love of the ocean,” he said.

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For the families of the victims, the anniversary stood as a solemn reminder of a devastating year.

They gathered Wednesday to reminisce about all the new memories they made in the past year — memories that now felt empty in some way.

Some of the victims’ relatives boarded the Condor Express, a large, whale-watching vessel, which carried them out to Platts Harbor. They stopped for a moment of silence as they looked out at the crystal-clear water, down at the place where their loved ones had died.

Other relatives stayed on shore, spending the morning near a memorial decorated with dried sunflowers, a white rosary and a pair of swim flippers inscribed with the number 34. Nearby, Kathleen McIlvain walked toward a boulder on which is mounted a sea-foam green plaque that reads, “IN MEMORY OF THOSE WHO LOST THEIR LIVES SEPTEMBER 2, 2019.”

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Memorial for the 34 people who died in the Conception Boat fire on Sept. 2, 2019

Petty Officer Timothy Fox, right, and other Coast Guard members visit a memorial for the 34 people who died in the Conception boat fire on Sept. 2, 2019.

(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

She reached down and ran her fingers over the fourth name on the plaque: Charles “Chuck” McIlvain.

She thought about her son — about how deeply she missed him — and tears traced down her cheeks, falling behind her mask. Her 44-year-old son, a visual effects designer with a broad smile, had worked on “Spider-Man,” “Green Lantern” and “Watchmen.”

“We shouldn’t be here,” McIlvain said, softly. “This should have never happened.”

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That lament was common among the grieving loved ones.

James Adamic, who lost his sister, Diana, said he hoped to see his sister and the other victims honored not only with words, but also with actions. He hopes to see changes through legislation, he said, as well as a deeper focus on safety among boat operators.

“This was a completely preventable tragedy,” Adamic said. “Simple things like better escape hatches and fire detection could have spared us all our grief.”

The retired Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department employee said he took some solace, however, in the thought of the first responders who rushed to the scene a year ago. They faced an impossible situation, he said, but they did their best.

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“That brings some comfort to us all.”

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A year later, families mourn Conception boat fire victims - Los Angeles Times
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