10 Unusual Facts You Didn't Know About The Titanic
9. The Titanic Was On Fire When She Set Sail
In stark contrast to the iceberg that caused the Titanic to sink, the ship also came under attack from another natural hazard in the form of a fire. Upon setting sail from her birthplace of Belfast to collect passengers in Southampton, a fire broke out in one of Titanic's reserve coal bunkers, and continued to burn throughout the ship's maiden voyage despite the crews best efforts to extinguish it.
The fire was finally defeated on the 13th April, 1912, the day before Titanic struck the iceberg, by a combination of wetting the coal with a hose and transferring the burning coal to the ship's furnaces. Many theories have emerged over the years that the fire may have helped contribute to Titanics sinking by weakening the ship's structure, and pushing the ship to excess speed due to the extra coal added to the furnaces.
Whatever the impact, it seems strange to our 21st century minds that a passenger liner would be allowed to sail while a fire raged below decks. This, coupled with the lack of lifeboats the Titanic was carrying, only goes to show that health and safety was pretty much non-existent in 1912.