I posted this in the AXiD forum as well, but wanted to share here.
Posted on Sun, Mar. 26, 2006
CRUISE SHIP FIRE
Partying students saw fire, rushed to rescue
College students who were on the cruise for spring break returned to Florida stunned by their ordeal but happy to have helped others on the burning cruise ship reach safety.
BY NATALIE P. McNEAL
For four days and nights, students from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University who went on a cruise last week did what most kids do on spring break: They partied, they danced, they stayed up all night.
So when the students began screaming and knocking on doors about 3 a.m. Thursday, annoyed passengers aboard the Star Princess just figured the spring breakers were up to their usual late-night antics.
But this time the fraternity brothers and sisters said they were coming to their rescue.
They said they were among the first to notice the thick plumes of smoke coming from the ship, which was en route to Montego Bay, Jamaica, with 2,600 passengers...
The predawn blaze on the ship left one passenger dead and 11 injured. The fire broke out as the ship -- which originated in Fort Lauderdale -- sailed from Grand Cayman Island to Montego Bay.
To help speed up moving to the muster areas, which are designated areas for safety, the students helped push elderly people in wheelchairs down the hallway. Other students held open doors.
Graham Jones and two of his friends said they helped carry a woman in her wheelchair down six flights of stairs to safety.
The students said there weren't enough fire personnel, so some of the fraternity members helped to locate fire hoses...
Indeed the ladies of Alpha Xi Delta and the young men of Sigma Chi were quite the attention getters on the cruise ship full of retirees, teachers and anxious families.
Read the rest here.
(I highlighted the positive aspects of the article...I felt it focused a bit too much on the stereotypical partying crowd.)
EDITED to fix the link.
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