Lessons from Bonhomme Richard The fire spreads throughout the fleet

ON BOARD THE COASTAL BATTLE SHIP USS KANSAS CITY, OFF THE CTES OF CALIFORNIA – The Navy has made several adjustments to its practices aboard surface ships and in shipyards following the fire that ravaged a vessel of amphibious warfare last year.

The service has put a renewed emphasis on fire safety and changed the way it checks surface ships to ensure they are ready to fight fires after the former USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6) burned down for several days last year at Naval Station San Diego in a fire that damaged the ship so badly it had to be scrapped.

“They started to tighten up a lot of requirements,” Chief Petty Officer David Hafoka told reporters aboard the USS. Kansas City (LCS-22) last week. “One of the big things that I know have changed as well is the requirements for roves, which is basically just wandering the ship and basically making sure everything is okay. Before, it was sort of left to the technical service officer and the fire marshal. “

“Now – and this comes straight from [Naval Surface Forces, Pacific] – you have the engineer service officer, the fire marshal, the command service officer and the section chief. They all have to move. They all have to move three times a day and they can’t do them all together. They have to be spaced so far apart, ”he continued. “They have to go through all the engineering spaces and focus on the firefighting equipment, making sure the ship is capable and that they are able to steer, fight or defend the ship in case damage control. incident.”

As part of the modifications, a sailor takes a tour of the ship every two hours to check various spaces and ensure the ship is capable of fighting a fire in the event of a fire.

“So it’s like every two hours, there is someone standing and making sure. And that is in addition to the internal rover that they have, which is dispatched, this staff and the quarters that are already established, ”he said.

Fire marshals also need more training due to the Bonhomme Richard fire, Hafoka said, and the navy has instituted more controls for ships heading to shipyards for maintenance. The service stresses that sailors must understand what is happening on board their vessel, even when it is in port for maintenance, and have the appropriate labels marked if necessary, according to Hafoka.

“There are a lot of additional requirements when you go to construction sites. There are briefs that must be carried out by the entities that are really leading the construction period, ”he said.
“For example, let’s say if you are running services through a door, there are requirements to perform them through the door. They must have quick disconnect labels, ”Hafoka added. “They have to be labeled. They have to be able to do it. A lot of times they get lazy and they just… lead it.

Navy ships are more vulnerable to fire damage during maintenance periods, USNI News previously reported. This summer, a a hot work fire has broken out aboard the guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG-64) while at the BAE Systems repair yard in Norfolk, Virginia.

In addition to performing more roves, the Navy is also evaluating the possibility of expanding its recruit training for the current course from eight weeks to ten weeks, so that Sailors can receive more firefighting training, according to Rear Admiral Robert Nowakowski, the deputy commander of Naval Recruitment Command and Force Development of the Naval Education and Training Command. Nowakowski is also currently leading a task force to improve the Littoral Combat Ship program.

“When they get on the ship they’ll usually have to do a bit more training anyway, so we’re going to try to load it a bit more into the design process so that they get more training before they get to. on board the ship, ”Nowakowski told reporters on board Kansas City.

“We have to make sure these sailors are ready from day one,” he said. “And how do you do it best?” You train them before they get to the ship. Now they are already receiving firefighting training at [Recruit Training Command], Big lakes. It’s great, but we want to give them more.

Working to prevent fires from breaking out is always the perfect way to fight them, Sal Mercogliano, associate professor of history at Campbell University, told USNI News.

“If you can catch him before he starts or when he’s little, now is the best time. And obviously the way you do it is by monitoring … whether it’s electrical sensors, smoke detectors, or physical roaming patrols. It’s the best way to always fight it, ”said Mercogliano.
“It’s a very proactive method. I mean I think the systems are working great for them. The problem you have is, okay, if you don’t catch it on time, or if it’s a fast growing fire, or if it’s an arson – that’s going to accelerate. – how do you fight a fire on a ship leaving a repair standby with a compromised main fire system? “

While the Navy has yet to release its investigation into the Bonhomme Richard, the service has charged a sailor with arson for the fire on board the ship.

Mercogliano said the Navy’s other concerns were about how it worked with local firefighting entities – which typically lack the training to fight fires on board ships – to fight fires. in ports and how sailors will fight fires at sea during conflict.

“The Navy being proactive in setting up roving patrols is great, but I think we also need to look at how we can learn from the Bonhomme Richard and apply them, for example, to a war scenario, where a ship at sea suffers damage similar to Bonhomme Richard, ” he said. “And you don’t have the luxury of calling for help ashore or evacuating the ship. How to fight this fire afloat like that? And these are the kind of lessons we should be taking. You know, using Bonhomme Richard like the lesson.

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