Colin Parkinson
Army.ca Myth
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One report said yes they are empty
USS Bonhomme Richard on fire
- Thread starter dapaterson
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It doesn’t mean notice to move. They can put all those trailers and equipment on and off in an afternoon.
Colin Parkinson
Army.ca Myth
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News conference https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0k0u9149f40
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Colin P said:
Good catch:
- No ammunition
- 1,000,000 gals fuel not in vicinity of fire;
- "Shipyard work" was being done;
- Ships company fighting the fire along with FFS and SDFD.
- Training for firefighting in USN starts on day 1 of Bootcamp. 'Doing the Business"
- Agent on the fire- they've likely identified the main source and are putting it out;
- "Ash fire" Office spaces and berthing compartments primarily affected along with the V deck (where it started).
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There is video of uncontrolled fire in the island superstructure. It was so hot that the masts have melted and are leaning. The ship has taken on a pronounce list. Overnight, they were also using helicopters to Bambi bucket loads of water onto the fire. That speaks of desperation.
I would say she is finished as a fighting unit.
I would say she is finished as a fighting unit.
The morning update describes ‘defensive’ firefighting. I have separately seen reference to ‘offensive’ firefighting. I’m interpreting that as they’re just trying to hold ground right now.
If they’re dumping from helicopters, that suggests against there being firefighter crews below...
If they’re dumping from helicopters, that suggests against there being firefighter crews below...
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That language suggests they are merely holding what boundaries they have, but are not putting any attack teams on the fire.
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That kind of contained heat for over 24 hours? Even if the structure was saved I can't see the metal being of any value strength wise.
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Bruce Monkhouse said:
Yep. All of the steel in the fire zone will likely be compromised. At some point, it is simply cheaper to scrap a ship and build new than to refit after a fire.
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Cdr Salamander (a USN blogger) is reporting that BHR has a 33 degree list and in his opinion, she is a total loss. The USN will be lucky at this point if she doesn't roll over at the jetty.
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MilEME09 said:
Offensive fire fighting would be using attack teams to actually put water directly onto the fire, but in this case it's a big huge furnace, so not really feasible, and would probably just keep spreading around the ship if they tried. Usually that only works at the beginning when the fire is growing; once it gets to a certain size it's too big you can't get enough cooling on there with a single hose team. Lots of spaces won't have fitted systems either, so really depends where it starts on whether that was an option.
Defensive firefighting is basically closing a box around it and cooling the outside with water (like the firetugs are doing; officially known as boundary cooling). It's to limit the spread and hopefully let it burn itself out; really a huge challenge when a ship is undgergoing repairs as you have hoses running all over the place and can include removal of big doors and hatches to get big equipment in and out, so watertight integrity can be shot. Even with everything shut down properly when it's that hot fires will spread into adjacent compartments just from normal heat transfer through the ceiling, walls (and wiring, piping etc). It's can get pretty ugly.
If you are onto defensive fire fighting it means that it's just not safe to put crews in there. With it burning that long there has already been serious damage to some parts of the structure, but possibly easier to repair if it's mostly above the water line. Assuming it's starting to list from all the FF water, which is definitely an issue with extended fires on ships.
Generally a really bad day, but sounds like everyone got off safely at the start, so that's really a best case scenario for a fire this big. Aside from fire damage, there will be remote damage from smoke/water, plus stress to other bits of structure, but they may fix it anyway as a point of pride. Anyway, no one died, so pretty lucky.
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Another live feed: constant buckets from helo's. It appears the parts of the superstructure have collapsed, and there are a few pics out there of flames totally engulfing the bridge decks now. So it has burned quite extensively.
https://fox5sandiego.com/news/local-news/5-hospitalized-dozens-need-medical-treatment-as-navy-ship-burns-for-2nd-day/
https://fox5sandiego.com/news/local-news/5-hospitalized-dozens-need-medical-treatment-as-navy-ship-burns-for-2nd-day/
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I am surprised that the fire hasnt been put out. At this rate the ship will be fit only for the scrapyard.
Commander Salamander has a link to a civvie mariner video across from BHR.
https://cdrsalamander.blogspot.com/
There are a few observations that have been top of mind over the last day.
1. We were not ready for the inevitable: I don’t care if it were a Sunday, the Navy was MIA from the information flow as one of our nation’s premier city was blanketed with smoke from a capital ship burning in the heart of the city. We almost seemed paralyzed and waiting for everything to be fully smooth and approved while the city and nation wondered what was going on. In San Diego especially, there is a special bond between the city and its Navy. We let them down by not showing in a very public way who was the face and voice of the Navy during this crisis.
2. We are not as good at safety as we think we are. Fires during maintenance availability are not uncommon for any navy. How and why was this fire allowed to spready so fast and so far? There are rumors, but I won’t repeat them here as they are just speculation, but this should be known far and wide once the investigation is done. The people of San Diego and the nation need to know. No overclassification issues here. Don’t even try.
3. Can you get underway: The USS FITZGERALD was right across the pier from BHR and was the first, under a blinding cloud of smoke, to get underway and out of the way. BZ to her crew. From the cheap seats though, that took way too long and not enough ships joined her. That story, along with the other ships close to BHR, sitting there soaking in all those toxic fumes, is another story I want told. That doesn’t even begin to discuss what would have happened if the fuel stores on BHR went.
4. We got lucky: we got lucky the ship was not full of Sailors and so far there have been no deaths. We are lucky that there were no weapons onboard. We are lucky this was not a nuclear powered ship. We are lucky, at least as of 11am Eastern, BHR has not sunk.
PACFLT has had a bad run the last three years, this is just another black eye. More to follow.
Commander Salamander has a link to a civvie mariner video across from BHR.
https://cdrsalamander.blogspot.com/
There are a few observations that have been top of mind over the last day.
1. We were not ready for the inevitable: I don’t care if it were a Sunday, the Navy was MIA from the information flow as one of our nation’s premier city was blanketed with smoke from a capital ship burning in the heart of the city. We almost seemed paralyzed and waiting for everything to be fully smooth and approved while the city and nation wondered what was going on. In San Diego especially, there is a special bond between the city and its Navy. We let them down by not showing in a very public way who was the face and voice of the Navy during this crisis.
2. We are not as good at safety as we think we are. Fires during maintenance availability are not uncommon for any navy. How and why was this fire allowed to spready so fast and so far? There are rumors, but I won’t repeat them here as they are just speculation, but this should be known far and wide once the investigation is done. The people of San Diego and the nation need to know. No overclassification issues here. Don’t even try.
3. Can you get underway: The USS FITZGERALD was right across the pier from BHR and was the first, under a blinding cloud of smoke, to get underway and out of the way. BZ to her crew. From the cheap seats though, that took way too long and not enough ships joined her. That story, along with the other ships close to BHR, sitting there soaking in all those toxic fumes, is another story I want told. That doesn’t even begin to discuss what would have happened if the fuel stores on BHR went.
4. We got lucky: we got lucky the ship was not full of Sailors and so far there have been no deaths. We are lucky that there were no weapons onboard. We are lucky this was not a nuclear powered ship. We are lucky, at least as of 11am Eastern, BHR has not sunk.
PACFLT has had a bad run the last three years, this is just another black eye. More to follow.
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The number of personnel sent to hospital is now 34 sailors and 24 civilians.
https://www.stripes.com/news/us/34-sailors-23-civilians-suffered-minor-injuries-in-uss-bonhomme-richard-fire-1.637345
By CAITLIN M. KENNEY | STARS AND STRIPES
Published: July 13, 2020
WASHINGTON — More than 30 sailors have suffered minor injuries from the fire that broke out Sunday and firefighters continue battle aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard at Naval Base San Diego, Calif.
As of Monday morning, 34 sailors and 23 civilians have been treated for minor injuries, said Lt. Cmdr. Nicole Schwegman, a spokeswoman with Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet. Of the 17 sailors who were hospitalized Sunday, five sailors have remained in the medical facility for observation and are in stable condition.
So far, minor injuries include heat exhaustion and smoke inhalation, according to Schwegman.
A fire was reported aboard the amphibious assault ship at about 8:30 a.m. Sunday while it was moored at the pier, said Mike Raney, a spokeThe cause of the fire is still under investigation and the origin of an explosion that also occurred on the ship Sunday is still unknown, The Associated Press reported.
Firefighting operations continued aboard the ship through the night and two helicopters with water buckets were brought in to help, according to the Navy.
At the time of the fire about 160 sailors were on the ship, which was undergoing maintenance, according to Raney. The ship typically has a crew of about 1,000.
Adm. Mike Gilday, chief of naval operations, called the fire “a terrible tragedy.”
"We are grateful for the quick and immediate response of local, base, and shipboard firefighters aboard USS Bonhomme Richard. Our thoughts and prayers are with our [Bonhomme Richard] sailors, their families, and our emergency responders who continue to fight the fire. Godspeed," he said in a statement.
Two nearby ships, the USS Fitzgerald and the USS Russell, had to move away from the pier Sunday afternoon because of the fire. The USS Fitzgerald had just arrived in San Diego July 2, according to U.S. Naval Institute News, after undergoing more than two years of restoration and modernization following the deadly 2017 collision that killed seven sailors.
Kenney.Caitlin@stripes.com
Twitter: @caitlinmkenney
sman for Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet.
https://www.stripes.com/news/us/34-sailors-23-civilians-suffered-minor-injuries-in-uss-bonhomme-richard-fire-1.637345
By CAITLIN M. KENNEY | STARS AND STRIPES
Published: July 13, 2020
WASHINGTON — More than 30 sailors have suffered minor injuries from the fire that broke out Sunday and firefighters continue battle aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard at Naval Base San Diego, Calif.
As of Monday morning, 34 sailors and 23 civilians have been treated for minor injuries, said Lt. Cmdr. Nicole Schwegman, a spokeswoman with Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet. Of the 17 sailors who were hospitalized Sunday, five sailors have remained in the medical facility for observation and are in stable condition.
So far, minor injuries include heat exhaustion and smoke inhalation, according to Schwegman.
A fire was reported aboard the amphibious assault ship at about 8:30 a.m. Sunday while it was moored at the pier, said Mike Raney, a spokeThe cause of the fire is still under investigation and the origin of an explosion that also occurred on the ship Sunday is still unknown, The Associated Press reported.
Firefighting operations continued aboard the ship through the night and two helicopters with water buckets were brought in to help, according to the Navy.
At the time of the fire about 160 sailors were on the ship, which was undergoing maintenance, according to Raney. The ship typically has a crew of about 1,000.
Adm. Mike Gilday, chief of naval operations, called the fire “a terrible tragedy.”
"We are grateful for the quick and immediate response of local, base, and shipboard firefighters aboard USS Bonhomme Richard. Our thoughts and prayers are with our [Bonhomme Richard] sailors, their families, and our emergency responders who continue to fight the fire. Godspeed," he said in a statement.
Two nearby ships, the USS Fitzgerald and the USS Russell, had to move away from the pier Sunday afternoon because of the fire. The USS Fitzgerald had just arrived in San Diego July 2, according to U.S. Naval Institute News, after undergoing more than two years of restoration and modernization following the deadly 2017 collision that killed seven sailors.
Kenney.Caitlin@stripes.com
Twitter: @caitlinmkenney
sman for Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet.
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tomahawk6 said:
I don't think they got lucky or not but had they had a full compliment of sailors onboard in all likelihood the blaze would more than likely be contained quicker.
From the press conference
With that said, here are the main takeaways from the press conference:
It is thought that two decks separate the fire from the ship's fuel reserves. The Admiral says the Navy is doing everything they can to make sure it doesn't migrate there.
No welding was reported in the area of the fire when it broke out.
At least significant parts of the automated halon firefighting systems were offline at the time of the fire. Enhanced pier-side fire watch readiness posture was supposedly in place.
415 Bambi Buckets of water have been dropped on the ship by three MH-60S Seahawks from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron Three (HSC-3) based out of nearby Naval Air Station North Island.
160 people were on the ship when the fire began.
400 sailors are now involved with fighting the fire aboard the ship.
The area where the fire started, which was the lower vehicle storage area, was filled with cardboard, rags, drywall, and other combustible material.
The fire is producing temperatures as high as 1,000 degrees.
Extreme heat in and under the island and in the bow.
There is a list that they are trying to correct via dewatering as part of a larger balancing act of keeping the ship stable while also fighting the fire
Five remain hospitalized and in stable condition out of 57 that have been treated at the hospital.
There is burn damage throughout the skin of the ship.
Due to the ship undergoing maintenance, there is debris scattered throughout the passageways of the ship making it challenging to safely fight the fire.
There are no plans to let the ship burn down to the waterline.
The Admiral is not aware of the fire being in the ship's critical engineering spaces.
Crews are keeping a close eye on the environmental air quality and so far it has been within EPA limits.
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