Construction materials
As far as the materials used in her construction were concerned, the elegant (but highly flammable) decor of the ship—veneered wooden surfaces and glued ply paneling—helped the fire to spread quickly.
Ship's structure and dearth of safety features
The structure of the ship also created a number of problems. Although the ship had fire doors, there existed a wood-lined, six-inch opening between the wooden ceilings and the steelbulkheads. This provided the fire with a flammable pathway that bypassed the fire doors, enabling it to spread.[5]:169
Whereas the ship had electric sensors that could detect fires in any of the ship's staterooms, crew quarters, offices, cargo holds and engine room, there were no such detectors in the ship's lounges, dance hall, writing room, library, tea room, or dining room.[5]:10
Although there were 42 water hydrants on board, the system was designed with the assumption that no more than six would ever have to be used at any one time. When the emergency aboard the Morro Castle occurred, the crew opened virtually all working hydrants, dropping the water pressure to unusable levels everywhere.[5]:44
The ship's Lyle gun, which is designed to fire a line to another ship to facilitate passenger evacuation in an emergency, was stored over the Morro Castle's writing room, which is where the fire originated. The Lyle gun exploded just before 3 a.m., further spreading the fire and breaking windows, thereby allowing the near gale force winds to enter the ship and fan the flames.[5]:39
Finally, fire alarms on the ship produced a "muffled, scarcely audible ring", according to passengers.[5]:39