UPDATED: 21 Taken to Hospitals as Firefighting Effort Continues in USS Bonhomme Richard Fire

[Axeslinger]

@Axeslinger

Thanks for the sailor's prespective.  Ax, if you read my last post, the one point that still perplexes me is that there was an explosion reported.  Would a ship like that be storing anything that would trigger one.  Because I wouldn't expect that with ignition of diesel or fuel oil.

@catfish1957
There are likely any number of things that could cause an “explosion”.  Especially bearing in mind that the word has an explicit meaning that the press usually has no idea about.  A hot burning fire that suddenly gets a boost of oxygen (or additional fuel) can appear to be an “explosion”.

 People think steel ship...what can burn?  Quite literally...EVERYTHING. There’s 25 years of paint on every surface...and trust me the Navy likes to paint things. 25 years of grease and oil.  Miles of electrical cables, insulation on all the water and steam lines. Fuel oil lines.  JP5, Jet fuel lines so that fuel can get from the tanks to wherever they’re refueling aircraft.   Ships burn and they burn quite robustly. 

[Axeslinger]

@Axeslinger

I thank you for clearing that up,but for the life of me I can't understand how anyone as anal as a typical Naval Officer could NOT have port watches roaming around the shop.

@sneakypete
It’s been a long time...but to the best of my recollection, in a secure port, like a navy base or an authorized shipyard, there were not a lot of watchstanders.  When we were in the yards, I really only recall quarterdeck and sounding/security watches.  I (stood my share of S/S watches in port).   In secure ports there were never any armed security, and I really can’t fathom why there would be a TECHNICAL need for any other watchstanders...especially once the power plant is offline. 

Also, someone above said something about the outlets not working because they were in the yards.  That ship would have been on shore power and fully electrified, just as if she were underway, it’s Just the power is coming from shore power and not from the engine room turbines.

[Elderberry]

Not saying that this is the cause. There was an explosion on the USS America back in 89. No identified cause, but it occurred in  in the No. 2 fuel pump room, which regulates the JP-5 jet fuel stored aboard the ship.

I'm sure that the USS Bonhomme Richard  also has JP5 onboard.

https://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-xpm-19890515-1989-05-15-8905150096-story.html

The explosion occurred in the No. 2 fuel pump room, which regulates the JP-5 jet fuel stored aboard the ship, John said.

The ship's firefighters moved quickly to isolate and contain the fire to the fuel pump room and immediate area, John said.

The two sailors in the pump room apparently were killed in the initial explosion and fire, John said. None of the firefighters was injured.

After the fire was extinguished, investigators were forced to wait several hours before the compartment was cool enough to enter, John said.

The fire and damage control methods used to contain Saturday's fire - including isolating compartments above, below and on all sides of the blaze - are carefully written out and frequently practiced procedures, John said.

[Elderberry]

I was only in the shipyard one time. We stayed onboard and I held my regular watches, one of which was night roving patrol. We continued pretty much to perform our regular assignments which for an Electronics Technician Radar(ETR) was mostly maintain equipment. I was also the Ops Dept Supply PO and Test Equip Cal and Repair PO so I had plenty to do, even in Dry Dock. I was all over the ship day and nights, when I had a watch.

And we took fires seriously. In Navy boot camp everyone was trained basic firefighting. But being on an aircraft carrier, I think everyone also got sent to Aviation Firefighting School.  They went overboard in boot camp teaching us how bad smoke is. It put me right in the hospital from smoke inhalation. That smoke was so thick, once we walked into it, it was completely black.  We had our working jackets on and everyone had a hold of the sailor before them. I don't know how long we were in there. A bunch of the guys were down on the deck. I was in the hospital the next day.

Aviation Firefighting School was a Hoot! It was also a damage control school( flood control mostly). But we also had drills on shipboard fire control as well as the aviation aspects.  I learned a lot.

[rangerrebew]

Photos capture the intense fight against the fire that has been burning aboard a US Navy warship for over 24 hours
Ryan Pickrell
 

    The US Navy amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard has been burning for more than 24 hours, and there is the possibility the fire will continue for days.

    These photos capture the intense fight to get the fire under control as it tears through the big-deck amphib currently at port in San Diego.
 

The US Navy amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6) has been burning for a day, the first of what could be a multi-day fight to get the fire under control.

https://www.businessinsider.com/photos-fire-fight-on-us-navy-warship-uss-bonhomme-richard-2020-7

[rangerrebew]

USS Bonhomme Richard, its fate uncertain, would be one of largest ships Navy has lost outside of combat

    John Wilkens, The San Diego Union-Tribune
    19 hours ago


For as long as the Navy has had ships, there have been fires, and some have been deadly. That the Bonhomme Richard appears to have escaped without fatalities also explains why the fire has been so hard to put out.

Hardly anyone was on board when it started.

"As counter-intuitive as this sounds, I would much rather fight a fire at sea with a whole crew than fight it dockside," said Bryan McGrath, a retired Navy commander. "The ability to act quickly with a massive response and inhibit the spread is aided when you have all your people."

https://taskandpurpose.com/analysis/bonhomme-richard-fire-analysis

[AL]

I'd guess the repair bill will be too high to justify an older carrier with a limited lifetime anyway.  Not only that, if the Democrat's take over after the election the military will be low priority again.

[PeteS in CA]

The worst peace time disasters I can think of would be the Desron that (mostly) went on the rocks at Point Honda (4-pipers, when they were fairly new) and the USS Maine, in which a coal fire probably set off a magazine. Not sure about earlier USN history.

[Elderberry]

Crews make progress as a fire aboard USS Bonhomme Richard burns for 4th day

CBS8 by City News Service, Heather Hope 7/15/2020

https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/local/crews-make-progress-against-still-burning-fire-aboard-uss-bonhomme-richard-for-4th-day/509-1ec343d8-9b0b-4a10-a023-2e9398a5baf3

Teams of military and civilian firefighters labored for a fourth day today to subdue a stubborn blaze that has raged aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard at Naval Base San Diego since last weekend.

Though the fire -- so widespread and hot that, for a time, was too dangerous to battle from aboard the warship -- has caused extensive destruction to the 41-ton vessel, the damage apparently is not irreparable, according to the Navy.

As of this morning, flight personnel had conducted more than 1,500 helicopter water drops on the ship, a process that was "cooling the superstructure and flight deck, enabling fire crews to get onboard internally to fight the fire," Navy officials said.

The all-out firefighting operation was ongoing late this afternoon.

The blaze broke out shortly before 9 a.m. Sunday in a part of the vessel where cardboard and tri-wall boxes are kept, and soon was sending thick columns of acrid smoke above the bay. Because the ship was undergoing maintenance work when the fire erupted, its built-in flame-suppression system was inoperative, according to base officials.

After about 90 minutes, authorities decided to remove all firefighters from the vessel for safety reasons and battle the blaze by remote means, including helicopters and boats surrounding it on the bay.

More at link.

[rangerrebew]

2 More Injured as Fight to Put Out Bonhomme Richard Fire Reaches Day 4
 
15 Jul 2020
Military.com | By Gina Harkins

Two more sailors had been injured as of Wednesday morning as the Navy's fight to save a warship that caught fire over the weekend reached its fourth day.

Forty sailors and 23 civilians have been hurt battling the blaze on the amphibious assault ship Bonhomme Richard at Naval Base San Diego. A fire broke out in the ship's "Deep V" lower cargo hold on Sunday. Teams have been fighting to extinguish it since, with the fire at one point reaching 1,000 degrees.

None of the 63 people have suffered serious injuries. Most have been heat exhaustion and smoke inhalation, according to Naval Surface Force Pacific.

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/07/15/2-more-injured-fight-put-out-bonhomme-richard-fire-reaches-day-4.html

[sneakypete]

I can't even begin to imagine the horrors of fighting a fire on a ship.

[Smokin Joe]

I can't even begin to imagine the horrors of fighting a fire on a ship.

Not under weigh, anyway. It'd sure be different from your average structural fire on land (which I have done) .

[Hoodat]

I can't even begin to imagine the horrors of fighting a fire on a ship.

Same here.  Especially a ship that can't move.

[catfish1957]

Not under weigh, anyway. It'd sure be different from your average structural fire on land (which I have done) .

I know in the oil and chemical industry,  there is usually a consensus between Incident Command an Managment Emergency Operations, where at some point you just contain and let the thing burn itself out.  I thought we were at this point, and am somewhat surprised there have been more injuries.

[Smokin Joe]

I know in the oil and chemical industry,  there is usually a consensus between Incident Command an Managment Emergency Operations, where at some point you just contain and let the thing burn itself out.  I thought we were at this point, and am somewhat surprised there have been more injuries.

That was common policy with flammable liquids and gasses fires, contain it, shut down the source, let it burn out.

I think they are trying to keep the decks and bulkheads cool enough that there is a prayer of refitting the hull, (and then there is that million gallons of fuel on board...)

[Hoodat]

I know in the oil and chemical industry,  there is usually a consensus between Incident Command an Managment Emergency Operations, where at some point you just contain and let the thing burn itself out.  I thought we were at this point, and am somewhat surprised there have been more injuries.

Apparently, the Bonhomme Richard has a considerable amount of fuel on board a couple of decks below the fire.  I think they want to get it under control lest that fuel get ignited.

[Smokin Joe]

Same here.  Especially a ship that can't move.

Why I worked onshore...It's easier to run and keep running...

I was on one rig that had a fire, but it was in the pump sheds and not the well itself. Considering, that's just fine by me.
Some forms of excitement I can do without, and it was partly my job to help keep things from getting that exciting.

[Hoodat]

Why I worked onshore...It's easier to run and keep running...

Had someone from my HR once question me on why we get should get offshore uplift.

[catfish1957]

Had someone from my HR once question me on why we get should get offshore uplift.

Should have told them, that we really need an HR rep off shore.....   We'll set you up an office.

[mystery-ak]

Navy puts out fires aboard USS Bonhomme Richard after four days of fighting blaze
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/507737-navy-puts-out-fires-aboard-uss-bonhomme-richard-after-four-days-of-fighting

[Elderberry]

The US Navy’s top officer wants answers on the Bonhomme Richard fire

Defense News 7/16/2020

https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2020/07/16/the-us-navys-top-officer-wants-answers-on-the-bonhomme-richard-fire/

The uniformed head of the U.S. Navy is preparing to depart Washington and visit the stricken amphibious assault ship Bonhomme Richard, after crews took more than four days to extinguish a major conflagration that has gutted the ship.

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday will fly to San Diego Friday to inspect Bonhomme Richard and ask some initial questions as he charts the course ahead for the service that has seen more than its share of troubles in recent years, he told Defense News in an exclusive interview.

In response to the fire, Gilday ordered the heads of Fleet Forces Command, U.S. Pacific Fleet and Naval Forces Europe to solicit direct feedback from ships’ commanding officers to ensure they have the people and adequate training to protect ships in port from fire and flooding.

“What I had the fleet commanders do this week was to say: We need to make sure our equipment is ready, we need to make sure our people are trained and we need to make sure our procedures are rehearsed and sound so that we are able to handle flooding or fire.”

The CNO’s comments come in the wake of the worst in-port disaster the Navy has seen since the 2012 fire on board the attack submarine Miami, which suffered a major conflagration while in deep maintenance at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Maine, an incident that was later determined to be arson. The Bonhomme Richard fire, which experts fear may have damaged the “big deck” amphib beyond repair, raises troubling questions about how prepared sailors are to combat one of their most fearsome enemies: A shipboard fire.

More at link.

[rangerrebew]

Crews make progress against still burning fire on USS Bonhomme Richard


by: City News Service, FOX 5 Digital Team
Posted: Jul 15, 2020 / 07:55 AM PDT   / Updated: Jul 16, 2020 / 07:32 AM PDT   

 

SAN DIEGO (CNS) – Teams of military and civilian firefighters labored for a fourth day Wednesday to subdue a stubborn blaze that has raged aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard at Naval Base San Diego since last weekend.

Though the fire — so widespread and hot that, for a time, was too dangerous to battle from aboard the warship — has caused extensive destruction to the 41,000-ton vessel, the damage apparently is not irreparable, according to the Navy.

As of Wednesday morning, flight personnel had conducted more than 1,500 helicopter water drops on the ship, a process that was “cooling the superstructure and flight deck, enabling fire crews to get onboard internally to fight the fire,” Navy officials said.

https://fox5sandiego.com/news/local-news/crews-make-progress-against-still-burning-fire-on-uss-bonhomme-richard/

[AL]

Hopefully the ship is able to be repaired as the Navy thinks, wonder if they're not a little premature saying that.  Find out the cost of repair first, then decide.

[sneakypete]

Hopefully the ship is able to be repaired as the Navy thinks, wonder if they're not a little premature saying that.  Find out the cost of repair first, then decide.

@AL

What else did you expect them to say? They HAD to say they think it can be salvaged in order to justify the fire fighting,and they have no real choice other than to fight the fire. If they win this fight,good for them because they have saved the taxpayers millions of dollars.

If they lose the fight they will at least be able to make an honest claim of trying to save the ship as well as save taxpayers millions of dollars.

[Cyber Liberty]

It's still burning?