SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A Sacramento couple is believed to have lost their lives in a southern California boat fire, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Adrian Dahood-Fritz, who worked for the Ocean Protection Council (OPC), and her husband Andrew Fritz were aboard the Conception when a fire broke out on Monday, Sept. 2.
The captain and crew leapt from the burning dive boat during the fire, saving themselves as 34 people perished below deck.
Dahood-Fritz was a senior environmental scientist with the Ocean Protection Council, under the California Natural Resources Agency, the Governor said in a statement Thursday. She and her husband moved to the Sacramento region for her role this April.
"Adrian led the state’s efforts to manage California’s network of marine protected areas, and she cared deeply about the ocean and biodiversity," Newsom said. "She embodied marine conservation and was a highly accomplished and respected scientific researcher. Adrian’s passion and energy will be greatly missed."
The OPC staff page states that prior to her move to Sacramento, Adrian spent nine years working on Antarctic environmental science and policy with the National Science Foundation (NOAA) while working on her PhD from George Mason University.
A relative shared the below image in a Facebook post on Wednesday.
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Whether or not criminal charges will be filed against the captain and crew members who jumped ship is yet to be determined.
The responsibilities of captain and crew are broadly defined, professor Martin J. Davies told the Associated Press. Davies is the maritime law director at Tulane University.
Davies said If that captain made no attempt to save passengers trapped in a burning boat, that would be a "violation of his duty" — but it wouldn't necessarily be wrong if the crew decided there was nothing they could do to help the passengers in the berth and abandoned ship to seek help from a boat nearby.
The Governor’s Office of Emergency Services is working closely with local first responders to provide assistance, News said in his Thursday statement, adding that the state is committed to assisting in recovery efforts and the investigation however possible.
"Based on the findings of the investigation, the state will take action to prevent horrific boat fires like this in the future," Newsom said.
Former Captain and Crewman, Chris Connelly spoke with Daniela Pardo about his past with California company Truth Aquatics, the company that owned the boat that caught fire.
