11.FIGHTING THE FIRE

The Titanic set on its route from Belfast to Southampton. In its travel to pick up over 2,000 passengers, the fire was still burning, inextinguishable even by the eleven men assigned to the job.
The fact that White Star Line was already behind its competitors didn’t help. The fire was kept a secret from the boarding passengers, as ordered by Ismay himself. He was careful not to scare any potential investments that could come in for his company. Whether the cruise ship was in flames or not, Ismay made it a point to push through with its voyage on April 10, 1912.

12. LYING

In an attempt to cover up any of the mishaps, Ismay turned to the ship’s incredibly luxurious interior and services. The huge rooms stacked with high-end equipment was meant to impress the first-class passengers from the moment they entered the Titanic.
Ismay even gave the ship a more prestigious feel by pricing the tickets rather high. It would possibly take an average person countless cash loans just to purchase a first-class ticket for $2,560. In today’s currency, that’s almost equal to $61,000 USD. In return, passengers enjoyed a three-bedroom room with two wardrobe rooms, a bath, and even a drawing-room.

13. THE FOOD MENU

Among the many luxurious services that the Titanic boasted was its expensive food menu. It was split into two parts – the lunch menu and the dinner menu. The guests were served nothing less than delicacies that you would typically only find in a fine dining restaurant.
Back in 2012, the original menu was even sold at an auction for a huge sum amounting to $160,450. The fire hiding in the ship’s bunkers was covered by a ten-course meal, complete with dishes like oysters, salmon, chicken, lamb, duckling, squab, and beef. One could not imagine how much electricity was needed to serve all these fancy food. The wealthy people aboard the Titanic were busy eating as the fire slowly worsened from beneath.

14. RISING TEMPERATURES

We all know today that the Titanic tragedy was caused by none other than an iceberg. While it seems that this has nothing to do with the ongoing fire, the ship’s journey met a couple more problems along the way.
Many raised their eyebrows when the first investigation on the event was released, including Senan Molony. The skeptic was curious enough to contact coal fire specialist Guillermo Rein for expert insight on the extent of fire damage. For someone to notice the fire, the coal must have been up in flames. However, Rein’s opinion might be enough to call back the Attorney that worked on the Titanic case.

15. SPREADING FIRE

According to Guillermo, a few days weren’t enough to spot fire from coal, unlike when something is heated with gas. It’s possible that it had started prior to leaving Southampton. When coal heats up, it spreads throughout before it begins to smoke. It could have been in flames for weeks before anyone noticed.
One of the scariest things to consider in this scenario is that fire from coal is almost impossible to extinguish. With a huge pile like that in the Titanic’s bunkers, the temperatures beneath the ship could have reached a striking 1,000 to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. This is enough to heat metal or steel.

16. HELL ON TITANIC

Imagining the scenario gets worse if you start to look at the ship’s layout. Besides the burning coal was a bulkhead, a water-tight room that would fill up with water in case of a breach. It’s what everyone considers the “safety room.”
With its elegant-made roofing, flooring, and walling, the heat of the bunker could have weakened the room. The bulkhead beside the bunker was the last to protect it, and if it did collapse because of the high temperature, the water would simply flow. At this point, there is nothing left to do. Soon, the ship lost its power, and disaster was waiting for the Titanic.

17. BRAVE WORKERS

The burning fire was kept a secret from the passengers, thanks to Ismay’s loyal workers. Fully aware of what was happening, they found a way to slow down the fire and keep it under control as the ship went on its route. They had even tried to repair the growing damage from the flames.
However, the fire was almost at its worst when it hit the bulkhead. It didn’t take long for the rising temperature to cause a hole between the bulkhead and the bunker. Even without the security of insurance, the laborers worked extremely hard to patch the damage.

18. BURNING THROUGH COAL

By now, we all know that the Titanic had less gas than it needed to sail at a safe speed. And with the situation at hand, the workers did what seemed like the only option to get rid of the coal – by shoveling it into the furnaces.
With the budget cuts, Ismay had implemented, the Titanic was traveling on fumes. The workers were throwing in as much burning coal as they could to reach full speed. Their main priority then was simply to remove the cause of the fire. As they were working their way through the piles of burning coal, they were traveling at full speed into an iceberg field.

19. IGNORING THE WARNINGS

By the time the Titanic was sailing into the iceberg field, Captain Edward John Smith was sent countless serious warnings. They had two options – to keep sailing or to stop. While it seems like the second option was the most logical, there was more to it than a simple decision.
According to talks, Smith was forced to sail at full speed against his instincts. He was stuck between getting stranded in the middle of the ocean and going full steam ahead hoping that nothing bad would happen. Because the company’s credit reports showed that they couldn’t afford another embarrassment, the Titanic kept sailing.

20. THE UNSINKABLE SINKS

April 14, 1912, became a day we couldn’t forget. Lawyers of the victims haunted Ismay endlessly. When the Titanic hit an iceberg, it took two hours and 40 minutes for it to sink. Out of the 2,200 passengers, only 706 made it out alive.
Three hours seems ample time to rescue every single person, but the fire had made things worse. The iceberg scraped along the hole and caused the ship to open even wider. Soon, the water was entering quickly. Even with the water compartments, it was simply impossible for the ship to hold out enough for everyone to get on rescue boats.