The Navy Accused Him of Arson. Its Own Investigation Showed Widespread Safety Failures.

[Nevilledog]

https://www.propublica.org/article/bonhomme-richard-fire-safety-lapses

On the morning of July 12, 2020, the first orange flickers of destruction took hold in the bowels of the hulking USS Bonhomme Richard as it sat moored at a San Diego naval base.

Unimpeded, the fire gathered force, surging upward, conquering one level of the 844-foot ship and then the next, while the crew — the ship’s critical firefighting force — fled to the pier. There, the captain and his sailors stood by as the Bonhomme Richard burned, in cruel irony of its motto “I have not yet begun to fight.”

Not until the San Diego fire department went aboard did anyone spray water on the fire — nearly two hours after it had started. By then it was too late. Gas cylinders were exploding and shooting through the air, and firefighters didn’t have a map or even a sailor to guide them through the smoky maze of the ship. A firefighter’s warning that a compartment was “about to blast” forced firefighters off the Bonhomme Richard just minutes before an explosion so powerful it was heard 13 miles away and hurled debris onto a nearby destroyer.

That afternoon, the flames, hot enough to warp steel beams, danced along the flight deck and engulfed the ship’s outer structure. As the inferno raged, it melted the inside of the 300-ton control center on top of the ship, spewing molten aluminum onto the decks below.

*snip*

[Turbineguy]

1. You wonder what would happen in a combat situation.

[haele]

2. With a full crew on an operational ship, the fire would be quickly contained.

However, it was a Sunday with a small duty section and a ship that was still 'down' with many systems not working due to it being in overhaul.

I was working on one of her sister ships when there was a 2-day smoldering hanger deck insulation fire due to a careless welder; it was taken care of relatively quickly once they figured out where it was, but heads still rolled and the ship was off-limits to work for three days due to both the fire and the investigation. Fires are not uncommon during overhaul.

There were a lot of problems that added to the destruction of the Bonhomme Richard, but arson was still the primary cause.

Haele

[sl8]

4. in the yards, there's a good chance the watertight doors in the pways can't be closed.

Last time I was on a ship in the yards the ship's main passageways had cables, hoses, ducting running through them. There was no way to close any of the watertight doors, which would have sucked if there were a major fire.

[Chainfire]

3. All sailors are trained to fight fires. It sounds like a failure of leadership.

Of course, someone is going to have to take the fall. It should be the Captain, not some boot sailor.

I really hope that the kid did put the ship to the torch, because he will certainly be convicted for it.