There is nothing more terrifying to a sailor than the dreaded word " FIRE. " Ships by nature are designed to carry cargo and the living spaces for the crew while well thought out to maximize the best use of space to accommodate them are and can be a deadly place. Passageways are narrow, step to upper & lower decks can be steep, doorways have coamings on them, cabin doors open out into passageways,the lighting is run off the generators in the engine room. In the case of the " Hudson Transport " as you can see by the photo that all the crew, officer and Captains quarters are are aft section on this vessel. Also the engine room is in the lower sections of the ship. Fire drills are done on a regular basis on board ships to make sure that the crew can deal with the situation as best as possible with zero loss of life. In this case 7 men lost their lives to the fire on board that ship. It would not be hard to imagine being woken in the dead of night to the sound of " FIRE " perhaps dazed and confused you stumble out of bed wondering, hearing the sound of yelling, feet pounding on the deck above, go to your door, open it and are confronted by black acrid smoke that once inhaled puts you into a serious coughing fit, but you stumble out into the narrow passage way knowing you have to make it topside, stumbling along the passageway you come to the step that lead up and start up only to stop as you feel the intense heat above you. Panic starts to set in and so you make you way again to the next exit to go top side only to find that perhaps it is blocked by maybe the body of an already dead fellow crewman, or perhaps the smoke from the oils, the varnish on the walls of the cabin, the burning mattresses, chairs and other furniture along with other combustibles add to the heat and smoke that now permeate the vessel, one becomes dazed, confused the smoke thick making breathing hard as you struggle to find an exit or way out.......and perhaps you don't and become a casualty on the roster of those who did not make it that fateful day in 1981. Fire at anytime is never good, but fire at sea holds a deeper dread for those who man the ships that bring us our goods for daily life.................thanks for the peek