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USS Bonhomme Richard on fire


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It's not looking good. It is now being reported that the bridge and superstructure is on fire. The bridge has partially melted and its mast is leaning bad. The ship has taken on a list as the fire continues to burn throughout the ship.

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7 hours ago, caudleryan said:

It's not looking good. It is now being reported that the bridge and superstructure is on fire. The bridge has partially melted and its mast is leaning bad. The ship has taken on a list as the fire continues to burn throughout the ship.

 

What disturbs me (and should disturb the powers-that-be) is that a fire on board could cripple this ship (and possibly cause it to be scuttled). What happens if a missile hits it in combat? The Forrestal, Enterprise, and Oriskany had much more serious (as far as what we know at the moment) fires than the Bonnie Dick, yet those were all saved. What's going on with this one that they aren't able to get it under control?

Edited by Darren Roberts
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Excerpts from another thread shed some light on this question.  The ship was close to completing a major over-hall and was still contained a lot of construction related equipment.  The fact that cables, hoses, pipes and the like associated with the over-hall were run throughout the ships passageways made it impossible to close off watertight doors and contain the fire.  Also, the number of ships personnel assigned /onboard at the time of the fire was apparently less than 200, thus limiting the immediate onboard response.  Apparently the ship is made out of aluminum,  which is quite susceptible to fire and heat.  I have heard but not verified that the bridge area has melted and a mast has collapse.  Photos from the scene show water being sprayed on the hull where their is no apparent fire, an to prevent the hull from melting or warping.  Warfighting ammunition will not be stored onboard ships during over-hall and is below the waterline where it could be flooded in necessary when at sea.  The only good news I have gleaned from this is the act that now lives have been reported as lost.  Gods speed to the injured. 

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My understanding is that there is aviation fuel still stored on board but below the water line and below where the fires are/were. One hopes that the fires don't reach the fuel. I would think that would be disastrous.

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Fires on board a ship can rapidly get out of hand - particularly when in a refit condition with water tight doors often blocked with cables, hoses, ventilation ducts etc.  Regardless, during a maintenance period a duty watch is available.  The only time that is not the case is if the ship is out of routine and for all intents and purposes handed over to the contractor or yard for refit.  Fire sentries are typically posted around any hot work whether at sea or alongside.  In an operational environment the rapid response and containment are of paramount importance.  Watertight doors and hatches are shut; ventilation systems shut down.  Once contained, boundaries are established to cool the bulkheads (to keep the fire spreading) and the attack route accessible.  Even alongside a duty watch has sufficient personnel to provide attack teams and boundaries.  In this case,  the rapid spread suggests that containment was not possible.

 

Water pouring into the ship from firefighting is often a cause for stability concerns - especially in a vessel like this with large transverse decks spanning the entire beam and the fact that the water is above the center of bouyancy.  The free surface effect of even small amounts of water on these decks dramatically reduces the metacentric height of the vessel and can rapidly induce capsizing.  The key here is to reduce that horizontal expanse of water or get rid of it.

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Some key points to keep in mind;

 

1) The ship was in the "yards" so there was no ship's company nucleus fire team (ie fire department) on board.

2) The ship was turned over to the contractor, the Sailors on board were more for security and no fire watches, that was the contractor's responsibility.

3) The boiler's were off line so there as no fire main pressure (ie, no water to fight the fire), basically she was in "cold steel" status.

4) While the ship's hull and frames are steel, non-structural bulkheads are aluminum.

5) As stated previously, the repair work on the ship prevented the setting of fire boundaries, thus allowing the fire to spread more easily.

6) All large compartments above the water line have overboard drains to help prevent water build up when fighting fires so there is little chance of the ship capsizing.

7) There was something fueling this fire in order for it to get that intense that quickly, and it wasn't fuel (there was no ordnance aboard).

 

If this ship was at sea with a normal complement of crew, the fire would not have gotten as large as it has. Fire boundaries would have been set, plenty of fire main pressure would be available and the crew (all trained to fight fires) would have been able to fight the fire effectively.

 

Just my $0.02

 

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6 hours ago, Michael A. said:

Excerpts from another thread shed some light on this question.  The ship was close to completing a major over-hall and was still contained a lot of construction related equipment.  The fact that cables, hoses, pipes and the like associated with the over-hall were run throughout the ships passageways made it impossible to close off watertight doors and contain the fire.  Also, the number of ships personnel assigned /onboard at the time of the fire was apparently less than 200, thus limiting the immediate onboard response.  Apparently the ship is made out of aluminum,  which is quite susceptible to fire and heat.  I have heard but not verified that the bridge area has melted and a mast has collapse.  Photos from the scene show water being sprayed on the hull where their is no apparent fire, an to prevent the hull from melting or warping.  Warfighting ammunition will not be stored onboard ships during over-hall and is below the waterline where it could be flooded in necessary when at sea.  The only good news I have gleaned from this is the act that now lives have been reported as lost.  Gods speed to the injured. 

bridge is intact, as well as the masts. Fire is down below decks near waterline. 

    Anykind of metal will burn if hot enough. Your looking at 3000+ degrees! The issue is warpage and weakening of the welded joints. I don't see it being close to that kind of heat.

gary

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7 hours ago, Michael A. said:

I have heard but not verified that the bridge area has melted and a mast has collapse.

 

After watching one of the videos, it does look like the aft mast on the island has collapsed. Pictures of the fire have shown that was an area with active flames of a very hot looking fire.

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11 hours ago, GW8345 said:

Some key points to keep in mind;

 

1) The ship was in the "yards" so there was no ship's company nucleus fire team (ie fire department) on board.

2) The ship was turned over to the contractor, the Sailors on board were more for security and no fire watches, that was the contractor's responsibility.

3) The boiler's were off line so there as no fire main pressure (ie, no water to fight the fire), basically she was in "cold steel" status.

4) While the ship's hull and frames are steel, non-structural bulkheads are aluminum.

5) As stated previously, the repair work on the ship prevented the setting of fire boundaries, thus allowing the fire to spread more easily.

6) All large compartments above the water line have overboard drains to help prevent water build up when fighting fires so there is little chance of the ship capsizing.

7) There was something fueling this fire in order for it to get that intense that quickly, and it wasn't fuel (there was no ordnance aboard).

 

If this ship was at sea with a normal complement of crew, the fire would not have gotten as large as it has. Fire boundaries would have been set, plenty of fire main pressure would be available and the crew (all trained to fight fires) would have been able to fight the fire effectively.

 

Just my $0.02

 

 

Thanks for the input GW. Your $0.02 are worth quite a bit more.

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pUgevcw.jpg

 

stem to stern it looked like.  sad.  

 

I wonder how much we'll have to pay for smoke inhalation and cancer torts.... I bet the commercials are already running.

Edited by Bounce
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If you want to get the gist of what fighting a fire on a ship at sea is like, read Danger's Hour; The Story of the USS Bunker Hill and the Kamikaze Pilot Who Crippled Her, by Maxwell Taylor Kennedy.

 

Spoiler Alert: Not For The Faint of Heart!

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4 hours ago, Bounce said:

pUgevcw.jpg

 

stem to stern it looked like.  sad.  

 

I wonder how much we'll have to pay for smoke inhalation and cancer torts.... I bet the commercials are already running.

That pic looks to be the top of the super-structure and not the flight deck.

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The Soviets have some fifty-eight nuclear submarines headed at high speed into the Atlantic. This afternoon's satellite pass over Poliyarny found heat blooms in the engineering plants of the Kirov, the Minsk and more than twenty cruisers and destroyers indicating that the bulk of their surface fleet is also preparing to sail.

 

 

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28 minutes ago, Bounce said:

The Soviets have some fifty-eight nuclear submarines headed at high speed into the Atlantic. This afternoon's satellite pass over Poliyarny found heat blooms in the engineering plants of the Kirov, the Minsk and more than twenty cruisers and destroyers indicating that the bulk of their surface fleet is also preparing to sail.


 

 

“ When he reached the New World, Cortez burned his ships. As a result his men were well motivated.“ Captain Ramius.

 

Too soon?

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, Bounce said:

The Soviets have some fifty-eight nuclear submarines headed at high speed into the Atlantic. This afternoon's satellite pass over Poliyarny found heat blooms in the engineering plants of the Kirov, the Minsk and more than twenty cruisers and destroyers indicating that the bulk of their surface fleet is also preparing to sail.

 

 


And this relates to a fire on a ship located in a Pacific Coast port how?

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