To the men fighting the fire, frustration turned to terror as the situation worsened. With the fire doors unable to close, there was no way to isolate the blaze. McFerrin hailed the bridge. "Tell the captain we're losing control down here. The fire has burned through onto the salon deck into the casino."

"Can't you keep the fire from spreading?" asked Sheffield.

"How!" McFerrin yelled back. "Nothing works. We're running out of extinguishers, we can't connect the hoses and the sprinkler systems won't flow. Is there any way the engine room can override the systems and close the fire doors?"

"Negative," answered Sheffield, anxiety obvious in his voice. "The entire fire-control program is down. Computers, fire doors, sprinklers, the works-they've all failed."

"Why haven't you sounded the alarm?"

"I can't alarm the passengers without the captain's authority."

"Where is he?"

"He went down to judge the situation for himself. Haven't you seen him?"

Surprised, McFerrin searched the area but saw no sign of Waitkus. "He's not here."

"Then he must be on his way back to the bridge," replied Sheffield, becoming uneasy.

"For the safety of the passengers, give the alarm and send them to their lifeboat stations in preparation for abandoning the ship."

Sheffield was aghast. "Order sixteen hundred passengers to abandon the Emerald Dolphin? You're overreacting."

"You don't know what it's like down here," McFerrin said urgently. "Just get the show on the road before it's too late."

"Only Captain Waitkus can give such a command."

"Then for the love of God, man, give the alarm and warn the passengers before the fire breaks onto the stateroom decks."

Sheffield was swept by indecision. He'd never faced an emergency like this in his eighteen years at sea. It was why he'd never wanted to be a captain. He'd never wanted the responsibility. What should he do? "You're absolutely certain the situation warrants such drastic action?"

"Unless you can get the fire control systems operational in the next Jive minutes, this ship and everybody on it is doomed," McFerrin shouted.

Sheffield was becoming disoriented now. All he could think about was: His career at sea was in jeopardy. If he made the wrong decision now. . .

And the seconds ticked away.

His inaction would ultimately cost over a hundred lives.

The men struggling to contain the inferno were well trained in fighting shipboard fires, but they were working with both hands ned behind their backs. Dressed in their fireproof suits with full helmets and oxygen tanks on their backs, each of them was becoming increasingly frustrated. With all the fire-fighting systems and equipment inoperative or useless, they could do nothing but stand helplessly and watch the blaze burn unchecked. Within fifteen minutes, A Deck was a holocaust. Flames consumed the shopping avenue and spilled out on the nearby boat decks. Crew members preparing to launch the lifeboats scattered for their lives as a torrent of fire surged over the port and starboard lifeboats. And still no alarm had sounded.