Bonhomme Richard fire

[exNavyOffRec]

My buddy is BHR ship’s company and he was onboard when the fire started. I don’t have any details other than he says they have been fighting the fire all day with support from medical and he’s on his way to Balboa for evaluation. Prayers for him, the crew, and the responders!

It turns out one of my wife's friends from high school is stationed in San Diego near the BHR, it sounds from his FB post and picture that he was recalled to help fight the fire, his post was a picture of the BHR from a distance with the caption "called in to help fellow sailors fight the fires on the BHR"

 

[PhrogLoop]

The just gave a brief and they said she has about 1 million gallons on JP5 but it is away from the fire, the fire started in the "deep V'...

Vehicle stowage areas inside the ship. I remember “upper V” being one deck below the hangar and “lower V” being 2 decks below. Can’t quite place “deep V” but it might be the area closer to the well deck.

 

[Jim123]

the fire started in the "deep V' but not sure what that is since I am a CVN guy.

The well deck-hangar deck-flight deck are connected by giant ramps. Picture a giant wheelchair ramp, then picture another one going next to it to keep going up (the old LHAs were more like half the width of the ship, IIRC an LHD ramp layout does center and sides). You can drive a truck from the flight deck all the way down- it's one contiguous piece of nonskid. "The Vs" (or vees) usually refers those ramps- for example, some guys like to get their PT by "running the vees" a few times.

 

[IKE]

Doesn't look like she's in a shipyard. This leads me to believe that she's in a Continuous Maintenance Availability (CMAV) which is designed to be performed on a completely operationally ready ship in order to conduct small repairs and refits. This jives with the fact that she's supposedly fully fueled. Before any other maintenance availability, she'd have been completely defueled and unloaded of all ammunition. This means that she may have limited firefighting systems online and have very little impact to spaces that aren't being worked on.

A drydock (DPMA) or SECNAV Restricted Availability (SRA, often conducted pierside) are for conducting serious overhaul of the ship and will make the ship completely non-operationally ready and unable to go to sea. The CMAV should not technically impact seaworthiness or ability to go to sea IAW SURFOR regs.

I don't know what availability the BHR is in, but her topside was wrapped in plastic when I left SD in March and had been for months. I think she was in dry dock, but she was definitely north of where I remember Pier 1 on 32nd St.

Obviously from the pictures, things have changed since March.

 

[RedFive]

If there's any question here as to whether or not she's in the yards, she's not. She's sitting at Pier 2 which is right in front of the base theater, starbucks, LCSRON, DESRON 21, etc. And for whatever it's worth I was told it started in the well deck.

Source: I spent a couple years looking for parking down there

 

[PhrogLoop]

It turns out one of my wife's friends from high school is stationed in San Diego near the BHR, it sounds from his FB post and picture that he was recalled to help fight the fire, his post was a picture of the BHR from a distance with the caption "called in to help fellow sailors fight the fires on the BHR"

Right, correction on my part. My buddy posted that pic, he didn’t snap it. Thanks!

 

[exNavyOffRec]

I was listening to the local fox station news and they played an interview from the SD fire chief part of what he said was "there is no way to offensively fight this fire"

I think they are interviewing the wrong guy.

 

[Max the Mad Russian]

God.... Hope no death. Hold on guys!

 

[BigRed389]

He's likely getting advised by the NAVSTA FD personnel as well as DCA and ADCA, likely the Engineering Assessors Pacific, and probably N4 staff from PACFLT. They all know a thing or two about shipboard firefighting and if the SDFD is anything like the Jax FD, then they probably do training with the NAVSTA FD bubbas. That doesn't even account for all of the NAVSEA folks swarming around who have been managing the maintenance availability who are trying to figure out how much this is going to set back their work schedule.

Good fucking luck.

At this stage they're going to be starting from before than Square 1.

After the crew (who are the poor bastards who really have to deal with the worst of this), my sympathies to the RMC Availability Project team. This is going to be ugly.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

A buddy of mine has some contacts down there just sent me a video, they are now doing bucket drops from a helo and the fire has burned up to the bridge.

Edit: I listened to the narrative and watched and updated video, fire is growing, flames visible out of the superstructure and witnesses are saying parts of the superstructure are deforming.

She is also listing to starboard.

 

[picklesuit]

All because some Sailor had their hands in their pockets...

But seriously, I’m gutted for the crew. Watching your home burn before you has to fucking suck, and San Dog isn’t exactly overflowing with extra rooms. Really glad to hear there are minimal casualties on this, hopefully it stays that way.

 

[AllAmerican75]

All because some Sailor had their hands in their pockets...

But seriously, I’m gutted for the crew. Watching your home burn before you has to fucking suck, and San Dog isn’t exactly overflowing with extra rooms. Really glad to hear there are minimal casualties on this, hopefully it stays that way.

There are berthing barges they can put in place for the crew. Not the best but it's something.

 

[Max the Mad Russian]

Well, the ship seems to be aready damaged beyond the level CV-13 Franklin suffered in 1945... Repair might be more expensive than new LHA cost but there's still the possibility to sink her alongside the berth to stop fire within hull. Another several hours afloat may be disastorous since she could capsize due to the weight of firewater poored in her.

 

[Pags]

So very sad...BHR was my home for 18mo and it's terrible to see this happen to any ship let alone USS LAST SHIP.

I stood CDO Import on her and a fire at the pier on the weekend with a small duty section was a worst case scenario.

 

[taxi1]

A little early to point fingers, but this article told me some things I didn’t know about recent history of fires on our ships.

USS Bonhomme Richard Burns, Likely A Victim Of Lax Fire Safety Practices

A series of avoidable shipyard fires, along with fires at sea, groundings, collisions and other accidents, have essentially sunk or sidelined an entire U.S. battle fleet in recent years. The Navy needs to wake up.

www.forbes.com

When I cruised on the America, we had a fire three days out of port while crossing the pond. Killed 4 of ships company. We kept going, but it was a sobering kickoff to the deployment.