bridge, instructed the crew to sound the alarm, and departed to locate the fire. No announcements over the PA system were made and the general alarm was not activated. The general alarm would have sounded alarm bells throughout the ship, alerted the passengers, and summoned off-duty personnel to the emergency stations. After about five minutes, the captain returned to the bridge and at 1:20 a.m. ordered the ship stopped. The radio officer could not send a distress call because of flames and smoke in the radio room. The fire forced the crew to leave the bridge, and the captain gave order to abandon ship at about 1:25 a.m. At this point the general alarm could no longer be sounded and they were unable to issue the complete "abandon ship" signal using the ship's whistle. The captain proceeded to the lifeboat containing the emergency radio, but could not reach it. He and several crew members launched another lifeboat and abandoned ship at about 1:45 a.m. The captain later testified that he wanted to reach one of the rescue vessels to make an emergency call. The remaining crew proceeded to alert passengers and attempted to help them escape their cabins. Some passengers tried to escape through cabin windows but found them difficult or impossible to open due to improper maintenance. The sprinkler system activated but was largely ineffective due to the severity of the fire. Crew members attempted to battle the flames with hoses, but were hampered by low hydrant pressure. The investigation later determined that more valves were open than the pumps could handle. While some lifeboats burned and others could not be launched due to mechanical problems, half of the ship's boats made it safely away. Passengers near the bow could not reach the lifeboats, but some were later picked up by boats from rescue vessels. The Finnish freighter Finnpulp was just eight miles ahead of Yarmouth Castle, also headed east. At 1:30 a.m., the ship's mate noticed that Yarmouth Castle had slowed significantly on the radar screen. Looking astern, he saw the glowing flames and notified the captain, John Lehto, who had been asleep. Lehto immediately ordered Finnpulp turned around. The freighter radioed Nassau three times but got no reply. At 1:36 a.m., the Finnpulp successfully contacted the Coast Guard in Miami. It was the first distress call sent out. The passenger liner Bahama Star was following Yarmouth Castle