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San Diego Union-Tribune
June 6, 2008 Navy urges caution after blaze on ship
By Steve Liewer, Staff Writer
CORONADO – Flammable materials stowed improperly on the aircraft carrier George Washington worsened a fire that caused minor injuries to 24 sailors last month, Navy officials said this week.
The fire broke out May 22 in an auxiliary boiler room as the ship traveled off the western coast of South America, said Cmdr. Jeff Davis, a Navy spokesman. The vessel was en route from Norfolk, Va., to Yokosuka, Japan, where it was scheduled to replace the Kitty Hawk this month as the Navy's only overseas-based carrier.
After the fire was extinguished, the George Washington continued its scheduled course to Coronado and is docked at North Island Naval Air Station. Teams of investigators from Norfolk and Bremerton, Wash., have been inspecting the scorched boiler room and adjacent spaces, Davis said.
There has been no announcement of how much the repairs will cost or how long they will take.
The blaze prompted the Naval Sea Systems Command to circulate a memo cautioning sailors to store flammable and combustible materials correctly.
That advisory didn't specify which types of materials contributed to the fire, but it asked sailors to be careful in storing aerosols, lubricants and fluids. Davis said no new rules are being adopted because of the George Washington blaze.
“We're asking the ships to verify that they're following existing regulation,” he said.
The fire has created other ripple effects for the Navy's Pacific Fleet.
The George Washington and the Kitty Hawk had been scheduled to hold a handoff ceremony Sunday at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. That has been postponed indefinitely, said Lt. Cmdr. Charlie Brown, a spokesman for the San Diego-based Naval Air Forces command.
The Kitty Hawk left Yokosuka permanently last week and is operating near Guam, Brown said.
June 6, 2008 Navy urges caution after blaze on ship
By Steve Liewer, Staff Writer
CORONADO – Flammable materials stowed improperly on the aircraft carrier George Washington worsened a fire that caused minor injuries to 24 sailors last month, Navy officials said this week.
The fire broke out May 22 in an auxiliary boiler room as the ship traveled off the western coast of South America, said Cmdr. Jeff Davis, a Navy spokesman. The vessel was en route from Norfolk, Va., to Yokosuka, Japan, where it was scheduled to replace the Kitty Hawk this month as the Navy's only overseas-based carrier.
After the fire was extinguished, the George Washington continued its scheduled course to Coronado and is docked at North Island Naval Air Station. Teams of investigators from Norfolk and Bremerton, Wash., have been inspecting the scorched boiler room and adjacent spaces, Davis said.
There has been no announcement of how much the repairs will cost or how long they will take.
The blaze prompted the Naval Sea Systems Command to circulate a memo cautioning sailors to store flammable and combustible materials correctly.
That advisory didn't specify which types of materials contributed to the fire, but it asked sailors to be careful in storing aerosols, lubricants and fluids. Davis said no new rules are being adopted because of the George Washington blaze.
“We're asking the ships to verify that they're following existing regulation,” he said.
The fire has created other ripple effects for the Navy's Pacific Fleet.
The George Washington and the Kitty Hawk had been scheduled to hold a handoff ceremony Sunday at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. That has been postponed indefinitely, said Lt. Cmdr. Charlie Brown, a spokesman for the San Diego-based Naval Air Forces command.
The Kitty Hawk left Yokosuka permanently last week and is operating near Guam, Brown said.