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OT: Bonhomme Richard Fire
Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2020 7:17 pm
by ushakov
USS Bonhomme Richard is on fire in the port of San Diego after an on-board explosion. More than 20 crew reported injured, but fortunately nothing life-threatening.
Seeing some reports that firefighters haven't been able to control the blaze and there's a possibility of losing the ship [:(]
https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/crews-battle-3-alarm-blaze-on-military-assault-ship/2363877/
https://twitter.com/engineco16/status/1282417596759814145
RE: OT: Bonhomme Richard Fire
Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2020 7:31 pm
by Shellshock
Bad. Looks like the whole hanger deck is involved. Makes me wonder if the Navy will be willing to invest in repairing a heavily damaged 22 year old ship even if she survives.
RE: OT: Bonhomme Richard Fire
Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2020 8:55 pm
by Dante Fierro
Whoa. Looks like she was just in an engagement. Good that no lives were lost though.
RE: OT: Bonhomme Richard Fire
Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2020 11:56 pm
by spence
Makes me wonder if the Navy will be willing to invest in repairing a heavily damaged 22 year old ship even if she survives.
So what does the Navy have waiting in the wings ready to be built to replace a 40 odd thousand ton LHD? Hate to say it but repair seems the better option but then again I did my time in the USCG where ships that were just 22 years old got FRAM'd.
RE: OT: Bonhomme Richard Fire
Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2020 3:32 am
by Leandros
Interesting to note that CNN this morning didn't even mention the incident. Can't be too serious, then. I mean, CNN is, after all, a very reliable institution. It was on BBC and all the Scandinavian news-sites. And, of course, the Russian...[;)]..
Fred
RE: OT: Bonhomme Richard Fire
Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2020 8:29 am
by fcooke
The USN has not had a good run recently. Collisions and now this. I am beginning to wonder about the training standards.
RE: OT: Bonhomme Richard Fire
Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2020 9:26 am
by BBfanboy
ORIGINAL: fcooke
The USN has not had a good run recently. Collisions and now this. I am beginning to wonder about the training standards.
If it was under repair/refit, I would first suspect the yard crews. Welding on avgas tanks is never good joss ...
RE: OT: Bonhomme Richard Fire
Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2020 9:27 am
by CV10
ORIGINAL: Leandros
Interesting to note that CNN this morning didn't even mention the incident. Can't be too serious, then. I mean, CNN is, after all, a very reliable institution. It was on BBC and all the Scandinavian news-sites. And, of course, the Russian...[;)]..
Fred
From Yesterday and today:
https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/13/us/uss-b ... index.html
https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/12/us/ship- ... index.html
https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2020/07/1 ... ot-vpx.cnn
I'm not sure if it got mentioned on TV this morning, but then again, we're in a 24 hr news coverage world now and I might have missed it.
RE: OT: Bonhomme Richard Fire
Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2020 9:37 am
by CV10
Glad that no one was killed, and here's hoping that the injured enjoy a speedy recovery.
It'll be interesting to see if the ship can be repaired, or if it's been damaged beyond repair.
RE: OT: Bonhomme Richard Fire
Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2020 10:08 am
by geofflambert
Still on fire.
"Sobeck, commander of Expeditionary Strike Group 3, told the Union-Tribune that the Navy thinks the fire began somewhere in a lower cargo hold where marine equipment and vehicles are stored.
The fire was not a fueled by fuel oil, hazardous materials or electrical causes, Sobeck told the newspaper. It was fueled by paper, cloth, rags or other materials in a standard fire. He said he is not concerned about the air quality or toxicity around the fire.
The explosion was probably caused by a change in air pressure, he told the Union-Tribune."
I sure am glad the air pressure doesn't change very often. I mean you're more likely to get hit with a tornado or anticyclone, right?
RE: OT: Bonhomme Richard Fire
Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2020 10:37 am
by RangerJoe
The rapid increase in heat with no relief valve probably caused the explosion. Think of a pressure cooker with the steam relief valve stuck.
Those were probably dirty, greasy rags that probably were not stored correctly. Probably some may have had a highly volatile cleaner on some as well.
RE: OT: Bonhomme Richard Fire
Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2020 10:51 am
by Leandros
ORIGINAL: CV10
I'm not sure if it got mentioned on TV this morning, but then again, we're in a 24 hr news coverage world now and I might have missed it.
It was nothing on here this morning but I see they are running it now.
Fred
https://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=113524
https://www.navy.mil/index.asp
RE: OT: Bonhomme Richard Fire
Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2020 11:01 am
by RangerJoe
Heavy fires, Naval Support helping to fight the fires.
It is probably that it would get repaired since the hull should be intact. It should be in better shape than the USS Cole and it is in a better location.
RE: OT: Bonhomme Richard Fire
Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2020 11:12 am
by fcooke
ORIGINAL: BBfanboy
ORIGINAL: fcooke
The USN has not had a good run recently. Collisions and now this. I am beginning to wonder about the training standards.
If it was under repair/refit, I would first suspect the yard crews. Welding on avgas tanks is never good joss ...
Didn't one one of the LA class SSNs get taken out by the yard crew? IIRC she never went back into service.
RE: OT: Bonhomme Richard Fire
Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2020 11:21 am
by Shellshock
ORIGINAL: fcooke
Didn't one one of the LA class SSNs get taken out by the yard crew? IIRC she never went back into service.
Probably, the USS Miami.
On 23 May 2012, during a scheduled maintenance overhaul, USS Miami suffered extensive damage from a fire, which was later determined to have been part of a series of fires started deliberately by a civilian shipyard worker who was seeking time off from work. The Navy determined it would be uneconomical to repair the submarine and decided to decommission and scrap her instead.
Sabotaging a Navy ship to get some down time. Geez.
Who needs enemy agents with that domestic mentality?
RE: OT: Bonhomme Richard Fire
Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2020 11:39 am
by Shellshock
Just as a postscript to that story, the worker who started that fire on the Miami is still in jail. Casey Fury is serving his sentence in Fort Dix, New Jersey, and is scheduled to be released Aug. 4, 2027. In a telephone interview with the Portsmouth Herald five years ago, Casey said he was pressured by a public defender to plead guilty to arson, was on multiple prescription drugs during that time and if he lit the submarine on fire, he doesn’t remember doing it.
RE: OT: Bonhomme Richard Fire
Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2020 11:40 am
by fcooke
I thought it was an accident, did not realize it was intentional. I hope that person is in prison for a long time. And that probably a billion dollar asset.
RE: OT: Bonhomme Richard Fire
Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2020 11:49 am
by durnedwolf
ORIGINAL: geofflambert
Still on fire.
"Sobeck, commander of Expeditionary Strike Group 3, told the Union-Tribune that the Navy thinks the fire began somewhere in a lower cargo hold where marine equipment and vehicles are stored.
The fire was not a fueled by fuel oil, hazardous materials or electrical causes, Sobeck told the newspaper. It was fueled by paper, cloth, rags or other materials in a standard fire. He said he is not concerned about the air quality or toxicity around the fire.
The explosion was probably caused by a change in air pressure, he told the Union-Tribune."
I sure am glad the air pressure doesn't change very often. I mean you're more likely to get hit with a tornado or anticyclone, right?
That story sounds familiar - like back in the day at Roswell...
RE: OT: Bonhomme Richard Fire
Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2020 12:21 pm
by RangerJoe
ORIGINAL: durnedwolf
ORIGINAL: geofflambert
Still on fire.
"Sobeck, commander of Expeditionary Strike Group 3, told the Union-Tribune that the Navy thinks the fire began somewhere in a lower cargo hold where marine equipment and vehicles are stored.
The fire was not a fueled by fuel oil, hazardous materials or electrical causes, Sobeck told the newspaper. It was fueled by paper, cloth, rags or other materials in a standard fire. He said he is not concerned about the air quality or toxicity around the fire.
The explosion was probably caused by a change in air pressure, he told the Union-Tribune."
I sure am glad the air pressure doesn't change very often. I mean you're more likely to get hit with a tornado or anticyclone, right?
That story sounds familiar - like back in the day at Roswell...
That looks like aluminium backed fabric.
RE: OT: Bonhomme Richard Fire
Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2020 5:05 pm
by BBfanboy
ORIGINAL: geofflambert
Still on fire.
"Sobeck, commander of Expeditionary Strike Group 3, told the Union-Tribune that the Navy thinks the fire began somewhere in a lower cargo hold where marine equipment and vehicles are stored.
The fire was not a fueled by fuel oil, hazardous materials or electrical causes, Sobeck told the newspaper. It was fueled by paper, cloth, rags or other materials in a standard fire. He said he is not concerned about the air quality or toxicity around the fire.
The explosion was probably caused by a change in air pressure, he told the Union-Tribune."
I sure am glad the air pressure doesn't change very often. I mean you're more likely to get hit with a tornado or anticyclone, right?
Fire starting in rags sounds like the classic spontaneous combustion of oily materials. Slow oxidation of the oil builds up heat in the middle of the materials that have insulating properties. Its a poor mechanic/worker that doesn't know about that hazard. Even with light industrial equipment in the facility I managed, we made sure the contract mechanic had a fireproof can to dispose of his rags.