For the first half of your 30-year career, there were far more smokers than we see today. It is only logical that there were more smoking related fires at that time. In recent years the reduced number of smokers has resulted in reduced instances of smoking-related fires.
For the second half of your 30-year career, most cruise lines had stopped the traditional Baked Alaska Parades, and instead used safer means of generating the “sparkle”. By that point in time, most propane burners had also been banned for cooking in Guest Areas, and most table-side cooking had been moved back to the galleys. What little public area cooking was done primarily on induction equipment, removing open flames and unnecessary high heat.These developments significantly reduced hotel-related fire events onboard ships.
Yes, many fires still occur today on passenger ships; primarily in galleys, laundries, incinerators, and engine spaces.
But to answer the original question, many of the Public Area fires we experienced in “the good old days” no longer happen due to increased restrictions on Baked Alaska Parades and tableside cooking, and decreasing numbers of smokers, along with further restrictions on where one can smoke on ships today.