[New Perspective]

Having been trained in fire fighting on board ships when I was in the CG, the average FF is not trained enough in this environment. Very sad to hear.

[Cold Heart]

The fire department near the shipyard and docks in Portland Oregon were well trained in ship board fires.

[EngineDad]

I spent most of my adult life sailing on RO-ROs (Roll on -Roll off) otherwise called Car Carriers. Most as a Chief Engineer. The worse part of trying to fight a fire in the cargo hold is that usually there are no fire lanes or clear paths for the fire fighters to traverse. Every inch is used for cargo and the space between the cars is filled with lashing gear which is a tripping hazard. Combine that with heavy black smoke and you are in the dark barely able to move.

Generally, these spaces are protected with either Low Pressure CO2 or in some cases a foam smothering system. My guess here is a CO2 system that wasn't used or effective because there were no boundaries keeping the CO2 in the space because cargo hold water-tight doors were open- or the ship was ventilating the holds to remove smoke/heat to be able to see. Just a guess.