A galley fire on a cruise ship led to a temporary disruption and a call for crew to assemble at their muster stations. The small fire broke out in a galley on Deck 5 of P&O Cruises’ 5,200-passenger Iona ship.
Crew Called to Muster Stations
The fire was extinguished with no injuries reported. According to a guest’s post on Reddit, an announcement was first made for first aid trained crew to attend to “a fat fryer oil fire.”
A series of further announcements were heard, escalating to a call to muster stations for crew. “It did not get up to passengers being required to go to muster stations,” one guest posted online.
However, some guests in the immediate vicinity of the fire were asked to vacate their staterooms as a precaution. Several restaurants were also shut down, mostly on deck 6.
It is thought around half of all dining venues were temporarily closed.
Guests in Nearby Rooms Moved as a Precaution
One guest wrote: “They asked the adjacent rooms to get out of their cabins and closed the stair next to it. I opened our door not long after the announcement to see fully kitted firemen running down the corridor.”
There was a strong smell of burning oil in the corridor, the passenger said. There were no further disruptions and the all-clear was given relatively quickly, although clean up crews were seen working for some time afterwards.
P&O Iona is on the final night of a week-long Norwegian Fjords voyage. It is expected to arrive back at Southampton, England on Saturday as scheduled. The ship visited Stavanger, Flam, Olden, and Haugesund, Norway. With a guest capacity of more than 5,000, it is one of the largest ships in the P&O Cruises fleet.
Launched in 2021, Iona is set to undergo its first drydock refit in October.
