As a firefighter i cant think of a worse environment to have to fight a fire than on a submarine. cramped quarters, low hanging ceilings, electrical everywhere to worry about, steep ladders, no outside air, etc...
Id imagine the best way to fight it would be to seal the affected compartments and pump in a non-messy extinguishing agent like CO2 or Halon.
Hope everything is OK. And speedy recovery to the Naval lads who were hurt. I guess luck was on their side. Dockside that is.
Damn. I imagine even a small fire in such an enclosed space must be a bitch to put out. And very expensive to repair the damage.
Seen the phrase "1500 Degrees F" thrown around elsewhere, if so that's bad news for Miami's potential future. If the steel pressure hull took that heat for a significant amount of time, it's been tempered and thus its properties are screwed.
From Commander Submarine Group 2 Public Affairs
http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=67373GROTON, Conn. (NNS) -- Statement from Rear Adm. Rick Breckenridge, Commander, of Submarine Group 2 in Groton, Connecticut:
"Late yesterday afternoon, USS Miami experienced a fire in the submarine's forward compartment.
"Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Fire Department and Ship's force, along with mutual assistance from several other area fire departments, immediately responded and successfully extinguished the fire on USS Miami. I repeat, the fire is out.
"The fire and subsequent damage was limited to the forward compartment spaces only which includes crew living and command and control spaces. The nuclear propulsion spaces were physically isolated from the forward compartment early during initial response.
"The ship's reactor has been shut down for over two months and remained in a safe and stable condition throughout the event. The propulsion spaces remained habitable and were continuously manned through the night.
"There were no weapons on board in the torpedo room.
The fire spread to spaces within the submarine that were difficult to access. The heat and smoke contained in these confined spaces made it challenging for firefighters to combat the blaze.
"As the number of attack subs has declined since the end of the Cold War, the Navy has been exploring several options to wring more service from each submarine. Deployments that typically last six months have been stretched in some cases to seven, and the force has been looking into repositioning submarines around the globe to reduce transit times and pressing builders to reduce maintenance periods."
Do like they use to do and refuel them.
Or they could just properly fund the Navy and build more submarines.
I take it that heads are going to roll?...
Preliminary findings indicate the fire started in a vacuum cleaner used to clean worksites at end of shift, and stored in an unoccupied space. Specific details as to the cause and subsequent damage assessment are still being evaluated as part of on-going investigations and will be released at a later date.
Last week, the shipyard's workforce was authorized to return to work in the forward compartment to begin cleanup and support damage assessment as well as to continue work in other areas throughout the ship. Since that time, the first phase of the clean-up process, which included dewatering the ship and installation of temporary services (i.e. lighting, staging, etc.), has been completed. For the next phase, detailed cleaning, the Navy is pursuing contracted cleaning services which are expected to be awarded later this week.
...
The Navy has developed an initial rough repair cost estimate of $400 million, plus approximately 10 percent for the secondary effects (such as disruption to other planned work across all Naval Shipyards, and the potential need to contract work to the private sector). This estimate was developed so that funding can be identified to support the repairs, which would be accomplished at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. This estimate will be refined as more data is gathered and testing completed.
...
http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=67636
The fire was Arson.
Court documents show Fury has admitted to causing not only the submarine fire, but another small fire on dry dock #2 on June 16.What idiot doctor was throwing pills at this guy but not picking up on the fact that he's a fracking Pyro?Fury told investigators that he was working in the torpedo room at the time. At approximately 5:30 p.m., Fury said his anxiety started getting really bad, and then grabbed his cigarettes and lighter and left the torpedo room.After entering one of the state rooms aboard the submarine, Fury told investigators that he then lit a bag of rags on fire with his lighter and then returned to his work.
“The reason he set the fire was in order to get out of work,” according to the affidavit.
Fury told investigators that he failed to admit his involvement in the submarine fire because he was “scared and everything was blurry to him and his memory was impaired due to his anxiety and the medications he was taking at the time.”
He then told investigators that he was taking prescription medication for his anxiety and depression, including Celexa, Klonopin, and Ambien.
Sadly this asshole will only get jail time. He needs to be skinned for causing damage and endangering lives.