Navy: Progress made on warship fire, but ship’s fate uncertain
SAN DIEGO » Marking significant progress, firefighters were able to move deeper inside the fire-engulfed USS Bonhomme Richard on Tuesday on their third day of battling the flames. But a top Navy official said it was too soon to say if the 23-year-old ship that is burning on opposite ends will be salvageable.
Navy officials were able to inspect four main engineering rooms and found no major damage, and the external structure of the ship appears to be safe, said Rear Adm. Philip Sobeck, the commander of the strike group whose flagship is the USS Bonhomme Richard.
But he cautioned at a briefing that there is still “a major fire inside” being fought by hundreds of sailors who were focusing their efforts on two isolated spots near the stern and the bow of the ship. It was unclear if there were two distinct fires on board or if the area burningnear the tail end was simply from the heat of a single large blaze, Sobeck said.
It’s also unclear whether the amphibious assault ship that is akin to aminiaircraft carrier can still be repaired.
“We haven’t been inside the shipwell enough to be able to get a full picture, and it’s just too early to tell,” Sobeck said.
The fire temperatures had reached up to 1,000 degrees, causing the mast to collapse and threatening the central control island where the captain operates the vessel.
In other good signs of progress, the fire had moved away from the one million gallons (3.8 million liters) of fuel on board, easing the risk of an explosion or spill, though the military was still taking precautions if either worst-case scenario should occur, he said.
Hel icopt er s had dumped 1,200 buckets of water on the ship, allowing crews to move further on board to fight the blaze. Tugboats were assisting from the waterline.
The 840-foot ship was undergoing maintenance when the fire was first reported Sunday morning in a lower cargo area where seafaring tanks are parked. It appears to have started where cardboard boxes, rags and other maintenance supplies were being stored, Sobeck said.