Fire continues to rage aboard Navy ship in San Diego

ABC News ^ | 07-13-2020 | Staff

[NRx]

More than 400 sailors are working to put out the massive fire that continues to rage aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard in San Diego and Navy officials are unclear how long the blaze might continue to burn.

The fire has brought down the amphibious assault ship's forward mast and caused other damage to the ship's superstructure that rises above its flight deck.

"There is a tremendous amount of heat underneath and that's where it's -- it's flashing up -- also forward, closer to the bow again there's a heat source and we're trying to get to that as well," Rear Adm. Philip Sobeck, the commander of Expeditionary Strike Group 3 said at a news conference Monday in San Diego.

More than 400 sailors are working to put out the massive fire that continues to rage aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard in San Diego and Navy officials are unclear how long the blaze might continue to burn.

The fire has brought down the amphibious assault ship's forward mast and caused other damage to the ship's superstructure that rises above its flight deck.

"There is a tremendous amount of heat underneath and that's where it's -- it's flashing up -- also forward, closer to the bow again there's a heat source and we're trying to get to that as well," Rear Adm. Philip Sobeck, the commander of Expeditionary Strike Group 3 said at a news conference Monday in San Diego.

[LibWhacker]

I have my little fears about dying in certain various ways, such as in a fire, or in a fall from a great height, etc. But now I’ve just realized I have a new how-not-to-die phobia: underwater in a burning navy ship - the searing heat, claustrophobic confines, smoke and noxious fumes, then, just as you’re about to check out, you realize you’re drowning in scuzzy dock water and maybe about to get blown up by the best bomb maker in the world, if a wrong thing comes in contact with some other wrong thing. God help those guys get out of there in one piece!

By the way, how old is this ship? My wife’s father served on an earlier Bonhomme Richard.

[BwanaNdege]

Only a skeleton crew of 160 was on board. Civilian contractors were working on the refit.

Weekend Liberty probably meant fewer than 100 crew on board.

Normal Damage Control Teams were probably WAY undermanned, at best.

Were the Fire Suppression Systems Pressurized? Pumps available?

[scrabblehack]

I take it this is not John Paul Jones’ ship?

[Blood of Tyrants]

Yes. Each ship has a primary fire control crew that receive more than cursory training.

[Captain7seas]

Someone above mentioned cutting into the hull. That’s exactly what should be done. And forget using a oxy- acetylene torch. Get a oxy-arc BROCO torch with exothermic rods used for underwater cutting. Those BROCO cutting torches will cut that hull plate like butter. The Seals over at Coronado have these and the Navy diving units have them. Start up at the bow where that fireboat is pissing on the hull and get some water on the fire. Just damn!

[rlmorel]

This is a newer one...

Your wife’s father likely served on the Essex class “Bonnie Dick”.

Unless she is a couple of hundred years old...:)

[headstamp 2]

[[[[On 12 July 2020, an explosion occurred about 8:50 a.m. aboard Bonhomme Richard while in home port at Naval Base San Diego undergoing maintenance. The resulting fire was fueled by paper, cloth, rags or other materials, not fuel oil or other hazardous materials, Rear Adm. Philip Sobeck, commander of Expeditionary Strike Group 3, told reporters that evening.[13] That day, 17 sailors and four civilians were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries;[14][15] all but five were released by morning of the next day, Navy officials said.[16] As of 13 July, the ship is still on fire.[17]]]]

WIKI

[rlmorel]

I was talking about this on an unrelated thread the other night...

I came aboard the Kennedy some months after that happened and had it described to me by the guy who was training me. It was the first night I was aboard a ship after I joined the Navy, and we sat on the edge of the flight deck while the JFK was tied up at Pier 12 the night before we left.

ADAN Delgado had been working on the flight deck that night the collision occurred as a plane captain, and he was assigned to "break me in". He told me that he saw a little bouncing red light at just about flight deck level, right from the area we were sitting. He said the red light was bobbing and swaying a bit, and he didn't know what it was and was just curiously watching it.

A split second later he felt the ship shudder and saw a huge plume of orange flame shoot into the sky.

The bobbing red light was the mast light of the USS Belknap as she circled in the dark, eventually colliding head on with the overhang of the JFK's flight deck on the port side. He said you could see the aluminum superstructure melting, and running in a molten river down the side of the ship into the water.

Now, that was a very vivid description he gave, and it has stuck with me. But I only saw the pictures of the Belknap a few years ago, and it astonishes me that anyone lived through that, but even more so that only 7 men were killed overall (one died on the JFK)

She was a fine looking ship. Not sure how capable she was, but I think her cruiser class has the most beautiful lines of any post WWII cruiser built.

Here is what she looked like the day after:

And later, after they took her into port (That may be Sigonella, I don't know...doesn't look like Naples)

[virgil]

It just breaks my heart to see that.

[rlmorel]

Yeah. I feel that way too.

[Spktyr]

The Halon fire suppression systems were offline for the refit.

[null and void]

Me too.

[Spktyr]

Mostly in the upper works and superstructure. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Wasp_(LHD-1)

“USS Wasp was built using more than 21,000 tons of steel, 400 tons of aluminum, 400 miles (640 km) of electrical/electronic cables, 80 miles (130 km) of piping and tubing of various types and sizes, and 10 miles (16 km) of ventilation ducting.”

[RJS1950]

We’ll see.

[Celtic Conservative]

Funny you should mention that. I know a guy who was on the Forrestal when they had their fire off Vietnam.

CC

[Spktyr]

Apparently the builder of the Wasp class ships made the last one modularly and can build more if needed, so it may not be irreplaceable.

[Tucker39]

All day long, I’ve had the recurring thought: “CO2 fire extingushers. If oil or liquid fuels are involved, water can often spread a fire. CO2 would starve the fire of oxygen and end it. Just spitballing.

[Spktyr]

The problem with that is that if the CO2 extinguisher can’t put the fire out, it has also done nothing to cool the hull, bulkheads or deck. Radiant heating through those surfaces can cause ignition of substances on the other side without the fire actually getting past it. If you flood the fire with water, you cool those structures even if the fire isn’t extinguished.

[mrsmith]

Sounds terrible for the ship.

But, at least, many sailors are getting first-hand prtactce at fire-fighting.

[doorgunner69]

Fairly sure it is standard to fly the air wing off to North Island NAS and maybe Miramar before coming into port at San Diego.

Remember seeing the CVNs come inot Pearl Harbor with all the planes on deck. They do not fly off anywhere there it seems.