Fire at Sea: Cruise Ship Rescue | Dead in the Water | 2
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Muriel Marvini wraps her arms around herself, trying to conserve warmth. It's a little after one in the morning on October 4th, 1980, and she's standing with her friend Agnes Lillard on the promenade deck of the cruise ship Prince and Dan. They're somewhere in the middle of the Gulf of Alaska, and it's freezing.

Muriel and Agnes rushed here from their cabin just minutes ago after the captain announced that a fire had broken out in the engine room. He ordered all passengers to evacuate onto the deck as a precaution, but the order hadn't said anything about dressing warmly. Luckily, Muriel and Agnes put on sweaters, but plenty of other passengers are shivering in nothing but their pajamas.

Muriel looks out at the sea. It's dark and still, considerably calmer than the rough waters that forced so many passengers to skip dinner just a few hours ago. But the air is damp and biting. She can't wait to be back in her warm bed. Agnes voices what Muriel is thinking. So there's a little fire somewhere. Big deal. They have all kinds of foams and chemicals to put it out.

I'm sure we'll be back in our cabin in no time. Muriel nods. She can see her breath illuminated in the glow of the emergency lights. I hope so. I can't believe how cold it is. Muriel and Agnes are both in their mid-60s. They've been inseparable since their husbands died several years ago. The two women golf together and travel together.

For this cruise, they spent months planning and poring over brochures. Before they left their homes in New Jersey, their families threw them a big Bon Voyage party. Passengers continue to crowd onto the deck. A woman that Muriel recognizes as the captain's wife is passing out blankets. Another woman in curlers and a robe meets Muriel's glance. They opened our door with a passkey and just barged in. We were half naked.

Muriel shakes her head sympathetically. Then she hears singing. Craning her neck, she sees the ship's entertainers huddled together in a corner of the deck, singing songs from Broadway musicals. As Muriel listens, they launch into You'll Never Walk Alone. That's a little too close to home, Muriel thinks. She turns to her friend. Agnes, I'm freezing. Let's see if we can sneak back to our room and grab some more clothes.

They make their way to the stairwell that leads down to their cabin. The stairs are dark and they have to feel their way along the handrail. As they reach the first landing, Muriel stops, startled. A figure is barring their way, shining a flashlight right in their eyes. Muriel squints and sees a crew member wearing a black rubber gas mask. "Turn back, ladies! There's too much smoke!"

For a second, Muriel is confused. What's the harm in just grabbing some warmer clothes? But the crew member is blocking their way and motioning for them to go back up the stairs. That's when she sees it. Wisps of smoke rising in the stairwell, climbing toward them. She and Agnes turn around and hurry back up the stairs to the promenade deck. The entertainers are still singing. The other passengers look relaxed, chatting, even laughing.

It all feels suddenly surreal. Muriel reaches out for Agnes' arm. I think this is worse than their letting on. Agnes looks at her and nods. Do you think we could be out here all night? How are we supposed to keep warm? Muriel doesn't answer. She's beginning to suspect they might have bigger problems than just keeping warm. She thinks back to the lifeboat drill they had the other morning. Almost no one was paying attention, including her.

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In the middle of the night on October 4th, 1980, the passengers aboard the cruise ship, Prince and Dam were awakened by an urgent announcement from the captain.

There was a fire in the ship's engine room. Prince and Am was in the middle of the Gulf of Alaska, not even four days into a planned 29-day cruise. As the passengers shivered on the deck, the crew fought desperately to contain the fire, but the ship's engines were shut down due to the fire.

and a typhoon was growing closer. It soon became clear that Prinsendam and the lives of all 519 of her passengers and crew were in grave danger. This is Episode 2, Dead in the Water. Captain Cornelius Wabika paces the bridge of Prinsendam, waiting for word that all crew members have evacuated the engine room.

The fire there has been raging for 45 minutes and all of the crew's efforts to put it out have failed. Wabika has one option left: to flood the engine room with carbon dioxide gas. CO2 will starve the fire of oxygen, but it will also leave the engine room uninhabitable for hours, which means Prinsendam will effectively be dead in the water. The cruise will be over, but he has no choice.

Finally, Wabika gets word from his chief engineer. The engine room has been evacuated and sealed. It's 1:37 AM. Wabika turns to his first officer, Hendrik Valk. Deploy the CO2.

Wobika knows the CO2 will snuff out the flames in a matter of minutes, but he also knows that the fire has generated massive amounts of heat, and that heat has to go somewhere. He just hopes most of it escapes up through the smokestack. Otherwise, if too much heat seeps through the bulkheads, it could cause whatever's on the other side to spontaneously combust.

Wabika glances outside. It's a beautiful night, but the remnants of Typhoon Vernon are heading toward them. The rough waters they encountered a few hours ago were nothing compared to what they're about to face, and with all the engines shut down, the ship's stabilizers have no power.

they'll be at the mercy of the typhoon's waves. He swallows hard. The fire may be out, but he knows Prinsendam's passengers and crew are in for a long, difficult night. Jeannie Gilmore gazes at the stars from the promenade deck of Prinsendam. The nighttime sky is clear and vast. She can even see the northern lights dancing on the horizon.

If she can just focus on the view, maybe she can stop thinking about the fire that's burning somewhere in the bowels of the ship. Jeannie can feel her mother, Neva, shivering beside her. She rubs her palm briskly over Neva's shoulders, warming her through her thin coat. "Mom, you okay?" "I'm fine. I just wish I dressed more warmly. Do you want my hat?"

Neva turns to her daughter and smiles. Before they left the cabin, Jeannie threw on her white fur hat. It keeps her warm, but it looks a bit silly. Jeannie's husband, Bill, likes to say it looks like a rabbit fell asleep on her head. No, I think it looks better on you, Jeannie.

Jeannie glances at Neva's face, barely illuminated by the waning moon. Maybe that's why she looks so pale, Jeannie thinks. Or maybe it's because her mother hasn't eaten anything in hours. Neva had begged off dinner after the rough waters made her seasick. Jeannie wonders if maybe the ship's kitchen might open up to feed all the passengers who skip dinner.

Jeannie nervously fingers the pearls around her neck. A few hours ago, her mother had urged her to take them off before bed, but she joked that if the ship went down, she'd go down wearing them. It seemed funny at the time, but not anymore. Jeannie takes a deep breath of the chilly air and tells herself to get a grip. There's no need for drama. This is a state-of-the-art cruise ship with all the best technology aboard. Mom, do you hear that?

I guess the ship's entertainers are still on the clock. Jeannie and Neva walk closer to where a crowd has gathered. Jeannie peers over a man's shoulders. She sees some of the singers clustered together, smiling and swaying their way through an acapella version of Oh, What a Beautiful Morning from Oklahoma, one of her favorite musicals. Just then, the public address system crackles to life.

The announcement seems to lift Neva's spirits. She smiles at her daughter. "Well, that's good news. Sounds like we might be on our way soon."

Genie nods, but doesn't say what she's thinking. If they've sealed the engine room and flooded it with carbon dioxide, will they be able to restart the engines? Will the engines even be operable? She looks out at the endless black sea. Suddenly, their ship seems very small. 25, 25, 25.

Captain Wabika rolls his head from side to side, trying to loosen the tension in his shoulders. It's 1:55 AM. 18 minutes have passed since he ordered the deployment of the carbon dioxide. But there's a problem. With the engine room evacuated and sealed, no one can confirm that the fire is fully out. An officer steps onto the bridge and approaches Wabika.

Wabika feels his shoulders relax a little. If the fire was still burning, those temperatures would be climbing, not dropping. The CO2 must be working.

But solving one problem has created another. Because it's full of CO2, the engine room will be inaccessible for hours. And with the engines shut down and possibly damaged from the fire, Prince & Am might need help.

Wabika orders his radioman to send an XXX message, a distress signal that's one level of urgency below an SOS. The XXX message will ping any nearby ships and be received by Coast Guard personnel on the coast. It will say that Prince and Dem has run into trouble and while she's in no danger of sinking, she needs assistance. He dictates the message.

Passenger ship Princeton Dam. Position 57 degrees, 38 minutes north, 140 degrees, 25 minutes west. Fire in the engine room. Flooded engine room with carbon dioxide. Condition unknown. Passengers 319, crew 200.

The radio officer sends the message via Morse code. Wabika rubs his chin and thinks. Dawn is five hours away. By then, he hopes, help will have arrived. With the right assistance, they can save the ship and safely transport the passengers back to shore. Maybe the worst is over.

John Graham and his daughter Mallory sit on deck chairs and munch peanuts. He found some stashed in the pocket of his windbreaker. It's 2 a.m., and all of the passengers are crowded on the stern of the ship. He pivots in his seat and peers through the windows into Prince and Dam's lounge.

A drink from the lounge's bar would calm his nerves, but the captain has ordered everyone to remain out here on the deck in case smoke spreads further throughout the ship. The ship's entertainers have commandeered the shuffleboard court and are using it as an impromptu stage to sing show tunes. He turns back to Mallory. She seems fine, all things considered. As a Vietnam veteran, Graham knows that crisis reveals a person's true character.

Looking at Mallory now, he couldn't be prouder. But at the same time, he's worried about her. After all, she's only 13. He reaches out to take her hand in his. How you holding up, Mal?

I'm okay. I'm just cold. And to be honest, I could do without the old people music. Graham laughs. What do you mean? You're not a Rodgers and Hammerstein fan? At first, Graham and Mallory had busied themselves by setting up tables and chairs for the elderly passengers. It was a good distraction, and it had kept them warm. But now, sitting here, he can feel the cold seeping into his bones. He leans back in his chair and stares up at the sky, tremblingly.

trying to remember the constellations he learned as a kid. This is not the kind of quiet reflection he had in mind when he agreed to come on this cruise. "Dad, look!" Mallory points to a nearby deck railing. Graham sees it immediately. Thick, dark smoke, curling up slowly from somewhere just below them. He pushes himself up out of his chair and goes to investigate. The smoke is rising from the hull below.

Other passengers see it too. He notices a man in silk pajamas and a camel hair blazer gripping the railing. He looks angry. "What the hell is going on?" But no one answers him. Everyone is watching the smoke as it billows up, an acrid curtain rising all around them. Graham hurries back to Mallory's side. He wraps his arms around her and whispers just loud enough for her to hear. "Mal, listen."

We need to prepare for the worst here, okay? We may need to abandon ship. Graham feels his daughter gasp against him. He pulls her tighter and they move to the other side of the stern. At least there isn't smoke there yet.

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Head over to Symbiotica.com and use code ODDS for 20% off and free shipping on your subscription order. Captain Cornelius Wabika tugs anxiously at the cuffs of his crisp white uniform. Whatever relief he might have felt earlier is gone. For every step forward, it seems they take two back. Initial reports from below had been promising.

The temperature outside the engine room bulkheads was coming down, which could only mean that the carbon dioxide had done its job and snuffed out the fire. Then Wabika ordered the crew to spray the engine room's exterior bulkheads with seawater to cool them down even more. But they discovered that the hoses weren't working, and no one can figure out why. An emergency generator runs the pump that feeds these hoses, and that's working fine.

Wabika knows the ship is at a pivotal point. Even though the fire is out, it burns so hot and for so long that temperatures inside the engine room could have reached 2,000 degrees. All that heat could start a new fire if it seeps through the bulkheads, and if that happens, they'll have no good way to contain it. Prince and Em has no sprinkler system, and the crew has already used up most of the ship's fire extinguishers.

Just then, a member of the crew steps onto the bridge. It's Dirk Zeller, the ship's hotel manager. He's responsible for all of Prince and Dam's passenger areas. He looks frazzled, like he's been getting it from all sides. Captain, the passengers are complaining about the cold. I wonder if I could suggest opening up the lounge or the restaurant, just to give them a place to warm up. Wabika pauses. I see. Let me discuss it first with my officers.

So what do you think?

"'It will warm up the passengers, but is it safe to let them back inside?' The chief engineer answers first. "'I think it'll allow some of the smoke and heat to dissipate. I see no reason not to do it.' Valk nods in agreement. "'The fire is contained. Our focus now should be on the well-being of the passengers.' Wobika nods and turns back to Zeller. "'Very well. Open the doors to the restaurant and to the lounge and let the passengers back inside.' Zeller exhales in relief. "'Thank you, sir.'

Zeller turns and dashes out. Wubica hopes he made the right decision. He feels pulled in so many different directions, but his primary responsibility is the safety of the passengers. And with so many of them elderly and not dressed warmly, hypothermia is a real concern. Unfortunately, Wubica knows that this cruise is over. All he can do now is try to minimize his passengers' discomfort until help arrives.

Richard Steele leans against a wall at the rear of Prince and Dame's crowded lounge and lifts an old-fashioned to his lips. The bourbon warms him on the first sip. After over an hour outside on the frigid deck, he's relieved to finally be indoors again. When the crew unlocked the doors to the lounge, some enterprising passengers made a beeline for the bar and started mixing drinks.

Richard happily accepted one. After all they've been through tonight, he could use a cocktail. Richard glances at his watch. It's just after two o'clock in the morning. He peers through the light haze of smoke filling the room and spots his wife, Louise, relaxing in an armchair near the doors. He's glad to see her resting. He leans back against the wall again. Then he notices something odd.

His back, where it's pressed up against the wall, feels warm. Actually, not just warm. He turns around and presses a hand to the steel wall. It's hot. Richard flags down a passing crew member. Hey, excuse me. What's on the other side of this wall? Oh, that's the ventilation shaft for the engine room. Richard stops the young man before he continues on his way. You mean where the fire is? Where the fire was. We're certain it's out.

The crew member hurries off, leaving Richard puzzled. Is the wall normally this hot? The engine room is four levels down from here. He remembers noting that on a diagram of the ship he'd seen in his room. And directly beneath where he's standing is the dining room. He kneels down, pressing his hand to the carpet. Is the floor warm too? Or is it just his imagination?

Richard stands up and looks for Louise, but she's no longer in the armchair. He spots her in the far corner of the lounge, watching the singers who've moved their performance inside. He hears the opening notes of Suri with a fringe on top. He can feel his eyes burn. The smoke seems to be getting worse. Drink up, people. A little booze gets the blood flowing.

Richard turns to see a man in his 70s in a blue yachting cap, working the room with a whiskey bottle in each fist. He's offering up shots to any passenger who wants one. He approaches two women that Richard recognizes as Jeannie Gilmore and her mother Neva. He met them at dinner the first night of the cruise. The man offers the bottle to Jeannie, but she wrinkles her nose and waves him away.

Richard watches the man in the yachting cap move on to two other older women, who each accept the bottle and take a swig. The man raises his arms and lets out a cheer, then motions to the singers. Hey, they had music on the Titanic, right? So, why not us too? Richard is surprised when everyone erupts in laughter. They clearly don't think they're in any danger. He steps away from the now scorching hot wall.

He's starting to suspect that they're wrong. Second Officer Matthew Osterwick dashes down a stairwell on Prince and Dan. He's barely had time to familiarize himself with the ship, yet here he is racing around to ensure that all 25 of her watertight doors are shut.

A few minutes ago, Captain Wabika ordered all interior doors to be closed. Now that there are passengers in the dining room and lounge, he wants to make sure no smoke spreads to those areas. The doors were closed remotely with the push of a button from the bridge, but the captain wants visual confirmation, and it's Osterwick's job to get it. He pauses at the bottom of the stairs. There must be a door open somewhere, because the passageway on this level is filling with smoke.

The closer he gets to the engine room, the more smoke there is. Osterwick starts to cough. The smoke here is too thick for him to venture any further. He has no choice but to go back, put on some breathing apparatus, and return. As he bounds back up the stairs, he looks up to see an elderly man in a bathrobe descending towards him. He can't believe it. Don't these passengers know how dangerous the situation is?

Hey, what are you doing? I just need something from my room. Absolutely not. There's too much smoke down there. It's not safe. You must come with me.

The passenger hesitates, looking over Osterwick's shoulder. Then he sighs and turns around. Osterwick finds a crew member to escort the passenger back to the promenade deck. Then he races to the bridge to retrieve the breathing apparatus, taking the stairs three at a time. He has to make sure all the interior doors are shut. He's certain some must still be open. Otherwise, how could the smoke be spreading through the ship so fast?

Muriel Marvini squirms in her seat inside the ship's theater, trying to get comfortable. She looks over at her friend, Agnes Lillard. Agnes' face is barely visible in the glow of an exit light, but Muriel can tell her friend is just as miserable as she is. It's 2:10 AM and they've been waiting for an update from the captain since being roused from their beds over an hour ago. Muriel turns to Agnes, annoyed.

"You think they would have told us something by now?" Agnes lets out a soft grunt in response. They ducked into this theater thinking it would be a cozy spot to escape from the chilly nighttime air on the deck and the increasingly rowdy passengers in the lounge. But almost immediately, they realized one problem: the ship's heating is off, along with its lights, so the theater is dark and it's freezing.

The two women plop down anyway. Maybe they could catch a few winks in the upholstered seats, but it's just too cold. Finally, Agnes sighs. "Muriel, I think we need to face reality. Look, even if they can get the engines working again, the whole ship is full of smoke. All of our clothes are probably ruined, not to mention the towels, the bed sheets, even the carpets. One way or another, I think our cruise is over."

Listening to her friend, it dawns on Muriel that this could be more than an inconvenience. Her mind starts to race. She reaches out in the dark to find Agnes' hand. But then what if they can't get the engines restarted? How will we get off the boat? Will they send another cruise ship to get us? I doubt they have a spare cruise ship. I think we may need to get rescued. Muriel gasps. Rescued? But they're in the middle of the Gulf of Alaska. How could they possibly get rescued?

All of a sudden, she's not cold anymore. She's sweating. Jeannie Gilmore guides her mother back out onto the promenade deck of Prince Adam. They had tried to warm up for a few minutes inside the lounge, but now the smoke has become so thick that it's forcing them back outside. She and her mother Neva rub their eyes as they step onto the deck. Jeannie takes a big gulp of the cold air, but finds herself coughing.

The smoke is out here too. Is there nowhere to escape? She guides her mother toward a railing and the open air. Neva had closed her eyes for a few minutes in the lounge, and she still looks half asleep. Jeannie glances around and sees other passengers wrapped in curtains and tablecloths that they took from the lounge. Some are carrying drinks they helped themselves to at the bar.

Jeannie recognizes Susan Stevens, the ever-cheerful hostess, gathering them together. Jeannie hears her call out. Okay, everyone, it's time for Prince and Dam's first annual fashion contest. Our first category, Who Wore the Curtain Best?

There are a few chuckles, but not from Jeannie. She's worried about her mother. Neva still looks pale, and she's barely said a word since she made fun of Jeannie's hat. She must be starving by now, after skipping dinner. Jeannie hopes they'll finally open the dining room soon. Suddenly, she hears something from below deck. It sounds like an explosion, followed by glass breaking.

Someone yells out, "The fire's in the dining room! It blew out a porthole!" She peers over the railing and looks down. More smoke is starting to billow up. Jeannie feels panic start to rise in her. The captain had assured them the fire was out, and she believed him. From behind her, she hears her mother's voice. "Jeannie, we have to move. It's too smoky here."

Jeannie nods and takes her mother's hand. Neva's fingers are ice cold. She swallows hard. She worries she's running out of options to keep her mother safe. To keep them both safe. The fire was supposed to be a minor inconvenience. Now it seems to be spreading throughout the ship. And if the crew can't find a way to put it out once and for all, what happens then?

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Prince and Dam has yet to receive an acknowledgement of her XXX message, but that's to be expected. They are far out to sea, but he's sure rescuers are scrambling to head in their direction. He knows there's a Coast Guard station in Sitka, about 200 miles away, and there might be other ships in the vicinity that can offer assistance. The rule of the sea is, anytime you receive a distress signal, you rush to help if you're close enough.

But in the meantime, he knows their problems on board are far from over. Smoke continues to float up from the lower decks of the ship. At first, Wabika assumed it must be the smoke that had escaped the engine room before the doors were sealed. But if that were the case, it would have dissipated by now. Instead, it's intensified. He steps toward the window to see for himself.

Even in the darkness, it's obvious. The ship is oozing smoke from her hull. Wabika hears a commotion behind him and turns to see one of his officers arrive on the bridge. He's breathless. Sir, the dining room is on fire. The dining room? How? There's a storage closet full of linens and alcohol. It started there and now it's spread into the main room. Wabika can't believe his bad luck.

He hoped that the heat from the engine room fire was dissipating, but he was clearly wrong. Instead, the heat built up to such intensity that the bulkheads couldn't contain it. The storage closet must share a bulkhead wall with the engine's ventilation shaft, and everything flammable inside must have combusted.

He feels his heart jolt in his chest. Less than a half hour ago, he'd agreed to open the lounge doors so the passengers could get warm. He thought it would also clear out the smoke, but he realizes now that it didn't push the smoke out, it brought more air in. Now the fire has everything it needs: heat, fuel, and oxygen.

Wobika turns to his radio operator. "Change the XXX to an SOS." He looks back toward the dark window. Beneath his feet, he feels the ship pitch. The sea is starting to seethe again. The remnants of Typhoon Vernon have arrived.

Wabika grips the armrest of his captain's chair as Prince Endem lurches from side to side. He knows that if they can't figure out a way to contain the fire before help arrives, he'll be faced with a dreadful task. Ordering everyone into lifeboats and sending them into these cold, choppy waters.

U.S. Coast Guard Commander Richard Scholl takes another swig of coffee and studies a large map on his wall. He's in the Coast Guard Rescue Coordination Center in downtown Juneau, Alaska. It's the middle of the night and he's got a major situation on his hands. A cruise ship in the Gulf of Alaska is on fire with more than 500 souls aboard.

The ship "Princendam" sent an XXX message about 20 minutes ago, which has just been changed to an SOS. An extensive multi-pronged response is underway.

The Coast Guard is deploying rescue units from all over Alaska's southeastern coast. The Air Force, which has a base in Anchorage, is standing by. And if any private vessels are close enough to render aid, they should be en route to Prince and Dame's location as well. The question isn't whether there's help available.

The question is whether it can arrive in time. Shoal has seen the weather reports. Typhoon Vernon is headed northeast, with Prince and Dam directly in its path. If the passengers and crew are forced to abandon ship, they'll find themselves in small lifeboats battling wind, rain, and massive waves.

He looks closer at the map and the pin representing Prince and Dam's position. She's a long way from shore, about 190 miles due west from Juneau and 168 miles from the closest Coast Guard station in Sitka. He turns to a junior officer. What's the status? An HC-130 is already en route to Prince and Dam from Kodiak. ETA is roughly two hours.

The HC-130 is the Coast Guard's search and rescue prop jet. It can circle the scene for hours and act as a command and control center. What about helicopters? Two Pelicans en route from Sitka. ETA within 90 minutes. Shoal pauses to think. Pelicans are the nickname for the HH-3F helicopters that the Coast Guard uses in many overwater rescues.

It's a powerful aircraft, equipped with a hydraulic hoist that can be used to evacuate passengers and crew. But each Pelican can only hold about eight people, nowhere near enough for a rescue operation of this scale. He needs more information, but so far they've been unable to establish radio contact with Prince and Dam, so they're operating in a vacuum. The captain's XXX contained an unnerving message: "Condition unknown."

Very good.

Anything else? Yes, sir. We have a cutter. Boutwell is in Juneau to celebrate the city's centennial. Scholl can't believe the luck. A Coast Guard cutter is exactly the kind of ship he needs for a rescue of this size. Boutwell is usually stationed in Seattle, so it's pure serendipity that it happens to be so close. Great. Contact the captain. They have to leave. Now. Aye, sir. Scholl sees a plan taking shape.

He taps the map with his finger as he considers how it will play out. The helicopters will reach Princeton Dam first and can drop emergency supplies and firefighting equipment, then airlift anyone who's sick or injured. Boutwell will take longer to get there, but could potentially rescue all 500 people on board.

He looks at Prince and Dam's spot on the map and tries to imagine what's happening on board. The seas are surely getting rougher by now. If the ship's dead in the water and still burning, they'll probably be deploying lifeboats soon. He just hopes that by the time Boutwell reaches Prince and Dam, hours from now, she'll still be afloat and not already sinking to the bottom of the Gulf of Alaska.

Captain Lee Crum pushes his way through a drunk and rowdy crowd at a bar in Juneau. As captain of the Coast Guard Cutter Boutwell, he's scheduled to be the Grand Marshal in a parade tomorrow. It's the 100th anniversary of the founding of Juneau, and the whole city is celebrating. But Crum won't be in any parade, and neither will his crew. And now he has to let them know that the party is over.

Crum dodges people on the crowded dance floor and makes his way to the back of the bar, where a rock band is just finishing up a song. He leaps up onto the bandstand and motions for the microphone. The band leader looks confused, but hands it to him. Attention. Attention, everyone. Crew of Beltwell, get back to the ship any way you can. There's a cruise ship on fire in the Gulf of Alaska.

There's a moment of quiet. Then Crumb sees the men and women of Beltwell spring into action. They're buttoning their coats, kissing their dates goodbye, throwing cash on the bar to close their tabs. Crumb watches proudly, then hops down from the bandstand and joins them. He knows it's not easy to drop everything and answer the call of duty, especially in the middle of a party. But his crew is always ready to roll.

Crumb hurries out of the bar and jumps into a waiting car. As it speeds off toward the port, he sees other crew members piling into vehicles. One even hops into a car's open trunk. Boutwell is waiting for them. And somewhere out at sea, so is Princeton Down.

This is episode two of our four-part series, Fire at Sea, Cruise Ship Rescue. A quick note about our scenes. In most cases, we can't exactly know what was said, but everything is based on historical research. If you'd like to learn more about this event, we highly recommend the book None Were Lost by Stephen J. Corcoran.

I'm your host, Mike Corey. Steve Fennessy wrote this episode. Our editor is Alyssa Adams. Our consultant is Stephen Corcoran.

Sound design is by Joe Richardson. Our audio engineer is Sergio Enriquez. Our production coordinator is Desi Blaylock. Produced by Matt Almos, Emily Frost, and Alita Rozanski. Our senior producer is Andy Herman. Our managing producer is Matt Gant. Our senior managing producer is Tonja Thigpen. Our executive producers are Jenny Lauer-Beckman, Stephanie Jens, and Marshall Louis for Wonderland.

The missiles are coming.

What am I supposed to do? Featuring incredible performances from Tracy Letts, Mary Lou Henner, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Paul Edelstein, and many, many more, Incoming is a hilariously thrilling podcast that will leave you wondering, how would you spend your last few minutes on Earth? You can binge Incoming exclusively in ad-free and Wondery+. Join Wondery+, in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.