The death of cruise passenger Richard Liffridge, 72, on the Crown Princess last March was caused by a discarded cigarrette butt. Marine reports indicate a cigarette started the cruise ship fire, which then spread rapidly using the plastic balcony partitions as fuel.
In a statement issued by Princess Cruises (a subsidiary of Carnival Cruise Lines) issued on Monday, they apologized to the passengers and crewmembers that were aboard on March 23rd. Princess Cruises also said that they followed every safety recommendation, including the replacement of combustible furniture, flooring and balcony partitions as well as additional training for crew to better respond to cruise ship fires. But cigarette smoking has not been banned.
Read the entire article, Deadly cruise blaze on Star Princess blamed on cigarette, plastic partitions in the Sun-Sentinel .
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